A HIDDEN treasure worth £390,000 had been sitting collecting dust for 50 years before being discovered.
The owner uncovered the Chinese teapot in his attic, unaware of its value, after his grandfather brought it back from Japan in the 1940s.
Believing it to be old junk, the grandson put the antique in a carrier bag and almost handed it into a charity shop.
In a stroke of luck, he decided to take the ‘ewer’ to the experts on Bargain Hunt.
Auctioneer Charles Hanson said on the TV show: “It’s amazing and I think this is the ultimate Bargain Hunt find.
“Our client came into the sale room with a bag for charity but then this came out and he said, ‘is it worth anything?’”
The antiques expert went onto explain the item was used by the court of Emperor Qianlong in the 18th Century.
“So it’s an imperial piece of enamel on copper, with that imperial yellow ground. Very sacred, very important and very rare”, Charles added.
It is so rare that there are only three others known to be in existence across the globe.
Presenter Natasha Raskin Sharp asked if the tea pot had immediately caught Charles’ eye.
He claimed he thought the teapot wouldn’t rake in more than £150 at first, but after some research discovered it could go under the hammer for up to £40,000.
But, the once hidden antique eventually sold at a Derbyshire auction for a whopping £390,000.
“When the gavel fell, I felt relief,” Charles said. “And all of my team and staff gave me a huge round of applause and I said, ‘thank you, guys, we made a memory’.”
This comes as many people begin to discover treasure hoarded by elderly relatives in their home.
One secret gem sat in plain sight collecting dust for 89 years before being discovered – and it could be worth £60,000.
The small jade box was bought by a Dorset farmhouse seller’s grandmother for just £8 as a present for her husband in 1934.
But the Chinese antique, thought to date from the 1800s, is now estimated to sell for 750 times its original price.
Another woman found a rare hidden treasure in her mum’s socks.
Margaret Hood kept the haul of antique items hidden away from relatives and carers who had no idea they existed until she died last October aged 90.
Some of the great-gran’s incredible jewellery collection has already fetched £5,410 at auction and it is expected to make £20,000 in its entirety.
