Chinese silver hoard found in attic goes up for auction

A collection of Chinese silver that was hidden during World War Two and found in an attic 80 years later is going up for auction.

Tea pots decorated with dragons, large goblets and silver plates all feature in the hoard, which goes under the hammer at Kinghams auction house in Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, on Friday.

The collection has been divided into 18 lots and features as part of a wider auction of silver antiques.

"We expect it could for around £10,000, the family history and provenance, in addition to the lovely quality of the items, do make it something rather special indeed,” said Matthew Lafite, Associate Director at Kinghams Auctioneers.

The collection was originally owned by an English official who worked for the China Navigation Company in the Shanghai docks in the 1940s.

He and his family were taken into captivity after the Japanese occupied the city in 1941, where he later died.

His son and wife survived the war and returned to their home in Shanghai where they were amazed to find that their Chinese servants had hidden the silver.

“It is amazing that this collection of Chinese silver was hidden away during the War to be repatriated to the family eventually," said Mr Lafite.

"Our vendor is a descendant of the original owner, and the collection was entirely unknown until this year.”

The majority of the collection dates from the early 20th Century and was made by a Shanghai-based silversmith called Zeewo.