Collection of Chinese antiques bought by a British farmer for as little as £100-a-piece sells for incredible £45.9MILLION (3)

A 'winged dragon' stem cup that was sold for £2.1million in the auction that sold for £45.9million at auction.

A moonflask was one of the Chinese antiques that Mr Pilkington purchased for as little as £100 per piece.

The sale was held in Hong Kong to capitalise on the Asian market but the total sale price was more than double the pre-sale estimate.

Nicolas Chow, deputy director of Sotheby's Asia, said: 'The Pilkington Collection contained extraordinarily rare items, of a kind seldom seen together on the market.

'This time capsule captured a seminal moment in the history of collecting when connoisseurship in the field reached new heights of sophistication, and when collectors' appetites for the very best were serviced by a handful of brilliant dealers.'

He added: 'Roger Pilkington was a true collector of Chinese ceramics. You can tell just by looking at the pieces he had a real passion and a sensitive eye for charming and beautiful objects.

'If he had bought the objects as an investment he would have come up with a much different collection. The pieces he collected were very carefully selected by him.

'The results are a real tribute to a man who had a true passion for Chinese ceramics. This collection will go down as one of the very finest.

'Some Japanese bidders were moved to tears just by looking at some of the pieces. They could see the eye of the collector.

'Mr Pilkington acquired most of the objects from the same dealer, Bluett & Sons of Mayfair. They were the greatest dealers of Chinese ceramics at the time and London was the centre for the study of the field.

'The Pilkington collection was a great secret to the art world. It has been passed by direct descent and some of the pieces were on display but it was a real treasure trove to find.

'When we broke the news that this collection was coming on to the market there was a real buzz.

'The collection was so important we took it on a travelling exhibition around the world to Tokyo, London, New York, Shanghai and Beijing.

'When we exhibited in Hong Kong - the frontline of the Chinese art market - we were bustling with viewings from morning into the evening. People spent hours looking at it.'