Photo of the Chinese vase made for the Qianlong Emperor (Photo/Agencies)

By Zhu Wenjia, Sina English

An 18th century Chinese porcelain vase which could have been sold for a record 550 million Yuan two years ago was auctioned off in London for less than a half the price.

The beautifully decorated vase made for the Qianlong Emperor, initially went under the hammer on November 11, 2010 in a suburban auction. It was sold for a price over 50 times the estimate, 550 million Yuan, to a Beijing-based collector Wang Yaohui, Financial Times reports.

The buyer, however, eventually refused to pay the agreed sum. If he had coughed up the money the vase would have become the most expensive piece of Chinese art ever offered for sale at auction.

Now the china vase was resold for the price between 20 million and 25 million pounds, less than half the price the original purchaser failed to pay.

Roger Keverne, the president of Asia Art Exhibition of London, told the media: “Two years ago, the ultrahigh auction price which drew most people’s attention was actually a gambling price. This time’s price is the real value of the antique.”