A Chinese vase with a guide price of €800-€1,200 has sold at auction in Co Laois for €740,000.
The Qing Period Blue and White Double Gourd Vase was offered for sale by a Dublin-based vendor at Sheppard's in Durrow this morning.
Sheppard's Irish Auction House said the 18th century, 23cm-tall vase with scroll handles was sold to a Parisienne buyer.
The vase would have originally been given as a prestigious gift by the Chinese emperor to an important visitor. It is not known how the vase originally ended up in Ireland.
Auctioneers said this type of imperial vase is extremely rare.
The bidding war involved buyers from more than 40 countries.
The vase's owner, a private individual in Dublin, was said to be shocked on hearing how much it sold for.
The auction house believes the sale is the highest ever for an art object at a public auction in Ireland.
Arrangements are now being made to ship the vase to its new owner in Paris.
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