300-year-old shopping list found

The list is so delicate it has been mounted on card

A Chinese shopping list thought to have been written 300 years ago has been found stuffed inside an 18th Century vase in a York stately home.

The discovery was made at Fairfax House while artefacts were being cleaned.

Supervisor Peter Musgrove said: "I heard a rattling in a vase and found a crumpled-up piece of rice paper with black ink Chinese writing."

The list, showing the cost of pigments purchased to decorate the vase, will be sent away for further analysis.

Fairfax House, in the heart of York, displays some of the finest English 18th Century furniture in the country.

The house was built in 1762 as a dowry for Anne Fairfax, the only surviving child of Viscount Fairfax.

It was opened to the public 25 years ago.