Ammon News - A prized Chinese vase dismissed by a BBC antiques expert as merely a 'clever reproduction' went on to sell for £53million after sitting in a loft for four decades.

The fate of the Qianlong Imperial treasure has come under renewed spotlight - having stunned dealers when uncovered and put under the hammer by a west London firm.

The family who owned the vase displayed it on 1970s BBC show Going For A Song.

One of the experts appeared unimpressed, with reports suggesting that could have been Going For A Song president and resident expert Arthur Negus.

Yet it went on to become the most expensive piece of Chinese porcelain ever to come on to the market - eventually.

The heirloom had remained in a family loft, in Pinner in north-west London, before an elderly woman invited in Bainbridges auction house in Ruislip, west London, for a house clearance following the deaths of her sister and brother-in-law.

Just months beforehand, the vase had been valued at £800 - yet the Ruislip firm suspected it could be worth more and carried out wider consultation.

The 16in-tall vase, featuring a fish motif on the front and gold banding, was made for the Chinese emperor Qianlong who ruled between 1736 to 1795. Daily Mail