Auctioneer Murray Keefe is the toast of the Island's antique trade, after selling a Chinese porcelain bowl for more than half a million pounds!

The decorated jardiniere, dating back to the mid-18th century, attracted strong interest among Chinese trade bidders from Hong Kong and London.

And Mr Keefe who describes the final price as 'staggering', has revealed the bowl was discovered in an attic during a house clearance.

Lot 163, a Quainlong planter with Doucai decoration, caught the eye of the Chinese as soon as Mr Keefe advertised its sale on his website.

Before the auction on Friday evening, the biggest three Chinese art dealers from London had already flown to the Island to have a look.

Bidding in the saleroom at Salisbury Street Methodist Church started at ?10,000 and quickly rose to ?300,000 with a bid from the floor. A London-based Chinese dealer raised the stakes to half a million only to be outbid by a Chinese dealer on the phone from Hong Kong.

The hammer went down to a round of applause.

The bowl was auctioned as part of a deceased estate, having been found in the attic of a house in West Baldwin.