A 200-year-old artefact put up for auction by a seller from the Welshpool area was sold for over £4,000 at an Asian art auction.

Two Mid Wales vendors saw their items fetch high prices at an Asian art auction held at Halls Fine Art in Shrewsbury on Wednesday, April 10.

One of the items up for sale was a small Tibetan gilt bronze figure, brought in by someone from the Welshpool area, which ended up selling for £4,600.

The 18th or early 19th century Tibetan figure of Padmasambhava, one of the founding fathers of Tibetan Buddhism in the eighth century, was originally purchased by the seller’s late grandfather, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Moore Kirkwood.

He acquired the artefact while serving with the Indian Army in Tibet between 1903 and 1904.

Alexander Clement, Halls Fine Art’s Asian art specialist, said: “These figures are normally hollow cast and they either have a flat metal plate on the base or are completely open. Those with a plate are filled with prayers and offerings.

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“The one we sold didn’t have a plate but it did have tiny paper scrolls that were rolled up tightly inside, which made it an interesting example.”

Another high profile sale from the same auction also came from Mid Wales, as another seller from the area brought in a large collection of Chinese snuff bottles.

The collection, made up of 43 bottles, fetched £12,000 in total. Top sellers in the collection were a group of eight Chinese jade and hardstone snuff bottles from the 19th and 20th centuries which made £1,400 and a Chinese blue and white porcelain snuff bottle bearing the Yongzheng mark which sold for £1,350.

County Times: Some of the Chinese snuff bottles from the collection

Alexander added: “The snuff bottles were collected over a long period by a couple, but the husband has now passed away. His widow, who lives on the Mid Wales coast, has kept some of her favourite pieces but decided to part with the rest because they were being kept in boxes.

“I was delighted with the prices achieved for the snuff bottles, with all but a couple of the lots selling.

“The main message from this auction is that the Asian art market remains very selective but the right objects are still able to make headline grabbing hammer prices. These objects are still out there waiting to be discovered.”

Specialists from Halls Fine Art are holding an antiques valuation event at the Monty Club, Newtown on Wednesday, April 17, from 11am to 2pm to raise money for Newtown Marie Curie Fundraising Group.