A "lost" extremely rare Chinese pot has sold along with other antiques found in a family's dusty attic for almost £1 million.
The collection which had belonged to antiques dealer Major Edward Coplestone Radcliffe had remained untouched for half a century.
Maj Radcliffe set up an antiques business after fighting in the trenches in WWl and his business was then put on hold in 1939 so he could serve in WWll where he was evacuated from Dunkirk.
He went on to amass an impressive collection of Chinese pots, vases, bowls and statues that were then stored in a dusty cabinet in the family's attic and left untouched for half a century.
Among the forgotten treasure was the "lost" Ming dynasty cloisonne box and cover that sold for £288,000.
Maj Radcliffe bought the 'pomegranate' box at auction in 1946 for £19 (about £1,000 in today's money).
It was estimated at £10,000 when the experts thought it was a 17th century copy but they soon realised it was one of five original pieces made for Xuande, the fifth emperor of the Ming Dynasty, in the 15th century.
Cloisonne is an ancient technique of decorating metal with enamel. Of the five boxes known to exist, one is in the Palace Museum in Beijing and three are in institutions. Maj Radcliffe's box is the only one in private hands.
The important piece sold for a hammer price of £230,000, which rose to £288,000 with fees.
Other pieces from his collection were a Qing Dynasty translucent jadeite dish, which Radcliffe bought in 1945 for £28. It sold for £53,480.
A pale celadon ribbed vase from the Song Dynasty of 1,000 years ago that Maj Radcliffe bought for £42 in 1946, sold for £34,000.
A rare small Chinese 'Yaozhou' celadon 'fish' conical bowl sold for £24,000 and a Song Dunaty 'Junyao' dish fetched £22,000. Maj Radckiffe had paid £8 and £7 respectively for them in the 1940s.
In total, the collection sold for £947,000.
Mark Newstead, director of Asian ceramics at Dreweatts Auctioneers of Newbury, said: "We are delighted with the results, in particular the exceptionally rare Chinese cloisonne 'pomegranate' box, made for of Xuande, the fifth Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
"The fact that it was discovered in a dust-filled cabinet in the attic of a family home amongst other less valuable pieces, where it had sat since its' owners death in 1967, is extraordinary and we knew it would attract world-wide attention.
"When I first inspected the piece it looked too good to be true as 99.9% of Xuande marked pieces are later copies.
"I assumed it was made in the 16th or early 17th century and it was only when my colleague, Dr Yingwen Tao, was able to compare it with the example at Fenton House in London that we started to believe it could be a 'lost' example of this rare group.
"The initial estimate, which was based on it being from the 17th century, was extremely modest and we thought it could achieve much more, even in its slightly damaged condition.
"There was very strong bidding between nine telephone bidders, with a private collector in Asia finally winning out, thus showing the strength of the market and confidence of buyers hasn't dwindled."
Maj Radcliffe was born into an aristocratic family in 1898 in Derriford, Devon, and was educated at Eton.
After the outbreak of the WWl he joined the British Army's 9th Lancers. He earned the nickname "Turk" among his colleagues as he took with him a Turkish shamshir as his personal sword.
His lungs were damaged by mustard gas in the trenches but he continued serving after the war in Ireland and then India.
He got married in 1935 to wife Mona de la Rue, the daughter of a Baron, and returned to London where he ran two antique shops.
He rejoined his old regiment at the outbreak of WWll, serving as a company commander with the British Expeditionary Force in France and he was wounded during the withdrawal at Dunkirk, while holding the line at Calais.
Once he recovered he served the remainder of the war as an instructor at Sandhurst.
After the war he had planned to run the family estate at Derriford in Devon, but it had been converted into a hospital to help the war effort.
He appealed to the House of Lords for ownership of the estate but when that failed Maj Radcliffe emigrated to South Africa in 1948 and enjoyed a quiet semi-retirement as a successful artist until his death.
He collected these ceramics between 1930 and 1965, mostly bought from auctions or dealer Bluett & Sons.
There were 87 lots from his collection in the sale, with every item selling. They made a total of £725,520, rising to £947,706 with fees.
