AN AUCTIONEER unearthed an exotic hoard of treasure hidden in a cupboard under the stairs in a routine visit to a North Dorset home.

Duke's in Dorchester was invited to visit the house in Iwerne Minster in August by the family of the elderly owner, who suffers from a long-term illness and was being moved to a residential home.

To their amazement the auctioneers discovered seven 19th century Chinese porcelain bowls and a rhinoceros horn cup, which went under the hammer on Thursday last week for more than £100,000.

Duke's auctioneer Matthew Denney said: "Finding a small collection of such rarity makes up for all the days of travelling around unexciting properties looking at unexciting things."

The collection was particularly rare because it is dated, unlike a lot of Chinese porcelain, which its makers marked with the same symbol their ancestors used, making it difficult to date accurately.

Duke's also suspect the beautifully decorated bowls were made for the Chinese Imperial Palace.

A large part of the collection was bought by one of the leading international dealers in Chinese porcelain, Hong Kong-based William Chak, despite fierce competition from London's leading specialist Marchants.

Mr Denney revealed that the rhinoceros libation cup, which was sold for £31,000, would have been the type of item Chinese scholars would have exchanged as gifts.

The cup would have been particularly valuable in the imperial court because it was widely believed rhino horn negated the effects of poison.

Sadly, because of the nature of the owner's illness, Mr Denney said it was impossible to find out how the collection came to be in the hands of the North Dorset family or for how long.