Going cheap: The £250,000 vase NOW only worth £20,000 after owners turned it into table lamp

The hole for an electrical lead drilled through the bottom of the Chinese collector's piece has reduced its value to around £20,000.

In mint condition  -  and sold with a matching vase that has been lost  -  it would have fetched up to £250,000.

Treasure: Amy Benet with the rare Chinese vase converted into a lamp

The 15in porcelain container is around 250 years old and was bought by the owner's great-grandfather in the Far East a century ago.

Thinking it was worthless, his family used it as a lamp at their home in South West London for 40 years.

It was sent to an auction house only after a friend spotted that it might have some value.

Experts identified it as coming from the time of Emperor Qianlong, who reigned between 1735 and 1796. The vase was given to the current owner, who lives in the West Country, by her great-aunt.

It is thought the piece might fetch more than its guide price at auction because China's recent economic success has enriched the country's arts collectors.

Bottle-shaped, it is decorated in the Ming style with plantation leaves, lotus flowers and leafy scrolls.

It was purchased by the greatgrandfather for 14 dollars and carries a note saying: 'Pair blue and white bottles'.

Ancient and modern: The Qing vase 'converted' to a table lamp has reduced its value dramatically

Guy Schwinge, of Dukes, the Dorchester auction house selling the vase, said: 'It is amazing where these things turn up.

'This story brings to mind the umbrella stand that turned out to be a Ming vase.

'It is also a tale of what might have been. If the pair of vases had remained together and this one had not been damaged when it had been converted to a table lamp the owner may have got £250,000 for them.

'Similar single vases have sold for up to £50,000. Qing dynasty porcelain dating from the reign of the Emperor Qianlong is widely collected.'

Mr Schwinge said that established collectors in North America, Europe and Hong Kong had been joined by a new generation of buyers from the Chinese mainland.

He added: 'Prices on the international market have surged and this trend continues for the finest material.

Porcelain from this period often imitated earlier wares, as is the case with this vase. Chinese porcelain that bears a mark consistent with the date of the piece is particularly prized by collectors.'

Qianlong is seen as very conservative ruler whose initial success gave over to decline in his later years. He abdicated in favour of his son, Jiaqing.