A SELECTION of treasures going under the hammer in Dorchester are expected to sell for over £1m today.

The collection of Chinese jades from the summer palace in Beijing will be auctioned at Duke’s auc tioneers in the county town at 11am.

The sale also includes a blue and white vase that was previously estimated to sell for more than £1m. Since that estimate specialist opinions have been divided as to what year the vase dates back to, affecting its worth.

The families who are selling the items want to remain anonymous.

Andrew Marlborough, fine art valuer at Duke’s, said: “It can be very difficult to date Chinese ceramics because the material is so vitreous.

“With this particular vase, opinions have become divided between leading specialists whether it comes from the 15th century or from a more recent date.

“Because of this we have catalogued it as 15th century or later, leading it open to the buyer to decide.”

He added that there is still a lot of excitement surrounding the jades that were acquired by Captain James Gunter following the looting of the summer palace in 1860.

The jades to be auctioned include an exceptional yellow jade pendant, or plaque, carved in the archaistic style with a dragon.

Guy Schwinge, pictured left, also of Duke’s, added: “This pendant is not only of exceptional quality, but it is carved from a piece of yellow jade of outstanding colour. Yellow jade is particularly rare and collectors anticipate the small pendant could sell for up to £200,000.”