Queen's teapot sold for ??1m · 2007-04-12 17:33
A Chinese teapot that once belonged to Queen Elizabeth I has been sold at auction in Hong Kong for more than ??1m.
The 10-inch porcelain teapot, decorated with songbirds and trees, was purchased by British-based antique dealers Littleton and Hennessy, on behalf of an overseas collector.
Auctioneers Sotheby’s said the teapot eventually went under the hammer for ??1,079,000.
The teapot, which had been expected to fetch nearer ??785,000, was given to a Chinese emperor during the Ming dynasty in the 1500s.
Alastair Gibson, of Sotheby’s, said: “It is a wonderful, exotic and historic piece which would have blown people’s minds.”
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