The 16-inch (40-centimetre) Qianlong porcelain vase, which was sold by Bainbridges auctioneers, is understood to have been bought by a private Chinese buyer.

On top of the initial price, the purchaser will also have to pay 20 percent fees, bringing the grand total to an eye-watering 51.6 million pounds.

It is thought to be the highest ever price paid for a Chinese art work at auction, and has made the brother and sister who inherited the vase following its discovery in a north London suburban home instant multi-millionaires.

Helen Porter of Bainbridges said: "They had no idea what they had. They were hopeful but they didn't dare believe until the hammer went down.

"When it did, the sister had to go out of the room and have a breath of fresh air."

The vase -- decorated with a "humorous fish" motif -- was expected to fetch between 800,000 pounds and 1.2 million pounds but far exceeded the valuations as a new breed of Chinese investors look to snap up artefacts from their imperial past.

The auctioneers described the "exquisite" piece as "one of the most important Chinese vases to be offered for sale this century."

The clearance of the one-storey house -- where the vase has been residing for decades -- was undertaken by the brother and sister following the death of their parents.

It is unknown how the vase made it to Britain, but it is thought almost certain that the antique -- which dates from around 1740 -- was fired in the imperial kilns and kept in the Chinese Royal Palace.

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