A Chinese teapot that once belonged to Queen Elizabeth I has been sold at auction in Hong Kong for more than £1m.
The 10-inch porcelain teapot, decorated with songbirds and trees, was purchased by British-based antique dealers Littleton and Hennessy, on behalf of an overseas collector.
Auctioneers Sotheby's said the teapot eventually went under the hammer for £1,079,000.
The teapot, which had been expected to fetch nearer £785,000, was given to a Chinese emperor during the Ming dynasty in the 1500s.
Alastair Gibson, of Sotheby's, said: "It is a wonderful, exotic and historic piece which would have blown people's minds.
"You never saw porcelain in Europe then - it just didn't exist. Everything was dull and tawdry and people were mainly eating of metal.
"It symbolises a new age of travel and exploration."
According to Sotheby's, the queen gave the teapot to her chaplain, Bishop of Worcester Henry Parry, in the early 1600s.
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