Ming cup sells for £3 MILLION after being given to university for free

The Stem Cup dates back to between 1425 and 1435 and bears the six-character mark of the Emperor of China, Xuande.

It sold for 36,000,000 HKD, which is approximately £3.1 million, after going under the hammer at auction in Hong Kong.

The cup was part of a collection of oriental ceramics bequeathed to Staffordshire University by London Chemist Ernest Thornhill in the 1940s to prevent damage from the Blitz in World War II.

The piece has been identified as the single most valuable in a remarkable collection of more than 250 items, bequeathed to the university by Mr Thornhill, a pharmacist from London, in 1944.

Auctioneers Lyon & Turnbull were appointed to sell the Stem Cup when the collection was rediscovered in 2013 after being hidden away in storage for a significant number of years.

Proceeds from the sale will fund a purpose built centre for ceramics at the university's Stoke-on-Trent campus which will house the remainder of the 270 piece collection.

Deputy vice chancellor Rosy Crehan said: "It is clear from the bequest that Ernest Thornhill intended his collection to be used as a study resource.

"However the value of the entire collection has increased significantly in recent years to the point where the university is not able to house and display it securely.

"The only reason for selling is so that we can raise the funds to do that.

"These are tremendously exciting times for Staffordshire University and we envisage that proceeds from the sale of the Stem Cup will enable us to comply with the original bequest and give our students full and proper access to this historically significant collection of oriental ceramics – some of which are dated to be over 3,000 years old."

The collection contains Chinese wares along with a small number of Korean and Japanese pieces. The earliest pieces in the collection belong to the Shang (1700 –1028 BC) and Zhou (1027–221 BC) dynasties. Ceramic experts, Steven Moore and Anna Westin, have advised that the collection is a rare and rich resource for students, academic researchers and professional practitioners to be able to access.

Next year, there will be a public unveiling of the Thornhill Collection in its permanent new home on Staffordshire University's new city campus.

It was decided earlier this year that the Stem Cup would be sold off so that a permanent home could be created to house the remainder of the Thornhill Collection, thereby fulfilling the wishes of Ernest Thornhill.

The collection is currently professionally stored and insured off-site following a valuation by Sotheby's.