Collector paid £19 for Ming-era box; 77 years later, it sold for £288,000

A 15th-century Chinese enamel box, originally bought for £19, sold for £288,000 at an auction. The box was rediscovered in a family attic where it remained unnoticed for decades. Major Edward Copleston Radcliffe acquired the box in 1946, and it was assessed by Dreweatts auction house. Experts confirmed the box’s significance, linking it to the rare Xuande-marked pomegranate boxes.