3. Chinese vases sell for 14 million pounds in London

A pair of rare Chinese famille rose vases from the Qing Dynasty sold for 13 million pounds ($16.8 million) at Christie's auction house in London in May, making it one of the top 10 most-expensive Chinese ceramics sold at auction.

The vases, made in the 18th century for the court of the Qianlong Emperor, were purchased in the early 1930s by an English buyer who passed them on to the current owner who "had no idea that she had such amazingly important pieces in her collection", according to Rosemary Scott, the Chinese ceramics specialist at Christie's.