This vase found in a shoebox fetched $19 million at auction, some 20 times the estimate.

A French family retrieved it from the attic and brought it to Asian arts expert Olivier Valmier at Sotheby's in Paris.

ASIAN ARTS EXPERT AT SOTHEBY'S, OLIVIER VALMIER, (ENGLISH DUB OVER FRENCH) SAYING: "This person took the train, the suburb lines, the metro, they came here on foot and then pushed through the doors of Sotheby's until they reached my office and the vase was in a shoe box and protected with newspaper.

And when they put the box on my desk and we opened it, we were all astonished by the beauty of the piece.

After that, expert assessment began to prove the authenticity of a piece which did not exist initially and which we rediscovered." The Chinese porcelain vase dates back to the 18th century.

It's extremely rare and well preserved.

The vessel depicting deer and other animals was made for an emperor of the Qing dynasty.

Sotheby's didn't name the buyer, but it may find a better home now than a shoebox.