The expert, who has not been named, told the French auction house that he believed that vase was from the 20th century and not an antique, The Guardian reports.

The exact origin of the vase, a Chinese tianqiuping, remains unclear. After a dramatic bidding war, it sold for €7.7 million to an anonymous buyer in China.

Jean-Pierre Osenat, the auctioneer, said: “The expert made a mistake. One person alone against 300 interested Chinese buyers cannot be right. He was working for us. He no longer works for us. It was, after all, a serious mistake.”