Bauble from a street flea market turned out to be an extremely valuable rarity (4 photos)
In the UK, there is a good tradition of holding "sales with trunk of a car" - when people gather in some large field or open area and sell there things that they no longer need. Thirty years ago, at a fair like this, it was sold for a couple of pounds a small porcelain figurine depicting a sleeping child. But only now her buyer found out that he made a very good deal then! 
All these years, the little thing served as a decoration on the shelf and no one considered it something of special value. But something still made her the owner to contact an antique appraiser.
It turned out that the porcelain figurine is about 278 years old, made she is at the famous London Chelsea factory, founded in 1743-1745 years, and this is one of the examples of the earliest English porcelain. An exceptional rarity that collectors are chasing! 
This is an important historical find that shows what began English porcelain production in the middle of the 18th century - explains auctioneer Charles Hanson. - figure in a horizontal position it was much easier to do than standing upright. The product belongs to the very first shipments of Chelsea porcelain, by about 1746. While the manufactory was headed by the jeweler Nicholas Sprimont (1716-1771); he was the first factory manager. 
A similar figurine with an official production date of June 26 1746 is kept in the British Museum. This find is practically the holy grail for any keen early English collector porcelain. Lots of people would love to have it! On the design of this charming the figurines may have been influenced by the Fleming Jan Michel Ruysbrack (John Michael Risbrack), one of the most prominent sculptors who worked in England at 18 century. 
In addition, the French factory Vincennes, which later became the Sèvres factory, gave similar examples of work, dating back to the early 1740s. Perhaps this figurine of a sleeping child was made according to a model sent from France.
The rarity will be sold at auction in Banbury (Oxfordshire) in early March, and it is estimated at 20-30 thousand pounds.
