THE owner of two Chinese vases was left speechless after they were sold for £3,000 - ten times their original estimate.

The mid-20th century ‘tea dust’ vases had been expected to fetch around £300 at McTear’s Asian Works of Art Auction.

However, the estimate was completely shattered when the bidding got underway.

The seller, who wished to be anonymous, had owned the vases for some time before deciding to put them up for auction. Magda Ketterer from McTear’s said the objects were the focus of an “intense” bidding war which was eventually won by an English buyer.