Giant Qing porcelain dish worth £30,000 which was made for Beijing's Forbidden City is found under family's sofa in north London home

Published: 06:42 EDT, 5 October 2026 | Updated: 06:47 EDT, 5 October 2026 A giant Qing porcelain dish made for Beijing's Forbidden City is set to sell for £30,000 after it was found under a family's sofa at their north London home. The rare imperial relic, produced to mark the birthday of a Chinese Empress Dowager, was brought to Britain by Chinese immigrant Wing Lung Goo in the early 20th century and has been passed down generations of his family.The dish - measuring 2ft wide and is 30lbs in weight - was stored under the living room sofa of Mr Goo's descendent, who lives in Barnet in north London. It is now tipped to fetch in the region of £20,000 to £30,000 after the relative contacted auctioneers and sent them photographs of the dish, which is decorated in Imperial yellow with green and aubergine enamel elements.John Axford, an Asian art specialist who has appeared on BBC's Antiques Roadshow, said he was initially intrigued by the object due to its size and arranged to visit the townhouse to view it. After studying the dish, Mr Axford found the four-character Chuxiugong zhi seal mark on its underside, which translates as 'made for the Chuxiu Palace.'The Chuxiu Palace, also known as the 'Palace of Assembled Elegance', was one of the six Western palaces located at the Inner Court of Beijing's Forbidden City. A rare Chinese Imperial relic is set to fetch up to £30,000 at auction The relic, produced to mark the birthday of a Chinese Empress Dowager, is decorated in Imperial yellow with green and aubergine enamel elements The dish had been stored under the living room sofa of a descendent of Chinese immigrant Wing Lung Goo, who first brought the object to Britain Mr Axford concluded the dish had been produced to mark the birthday of the Chinese Empress Dowager Cixi in the 1880s, but said the family were likely to have hidden it away as it was too large and heavy to display safely on a wall or shelf.He said: 'We are not exactly sure why the dish was kept under a sofa for decades but it could be that it was too big for them to hang on a wall or display.'It is not necessarily the most sensible place to store something like this and when we were sent photos of the dish it was covered in dirt.'But the size of it meant I thought I should go along and see it and when studying the dish I identified the very unusual seal mark that was used specifically for dishes made for the empresses birthday.''Once it was cleaned the dish has come out beautifully,' Mr Axford, chairman and head of the Asian Art Department at auctioneers Woolley & Wallis, added. 'To discover an Imperial dish of such monumental scale in near pristine condition and learn that it was stored beneath a living room sofa in London is truly extraordinary.'The dish - described as among the 'most significant examples' of late Qing palace porcelain to appear on the market in recent times - is painted with two confronting dragons contesting a flaming pearl amongst pin clouds and flames.Around the outside is a floral border with lotus, prunus, peony, chrysanthemum and hibiscus flowers, while the rim is decorated with a further six dragons and flaming pearls. A spokesperson from Woolley & Wallis said the 'rare' dish is the 'only known example of this type, where the base is also glazed in a yellow colour'. They added: 'Combining Imperial palace provenance, direct association with the court of the Empress Dowager Cixi, exceptional scale and a potentially unique yellow-glazed base, the dish ranks among the most significant examples of late Qing palace porcelain to appear on the market in recent years.'The item is set to go on sale on November 10.