'Cheap pitcher' sells for £3.1m

The ewers were originally carved from a single piece of flawless rock crystal,

A rare crystal jug mistaken for a cheap French claret pitcher has sold for more than £3m at auction.

The carved rock crystal ewer was valued at £100 in January prior to an auction in Somerset and fetched £220,000 but the sale was later declared void.

The jug was made for the court of the Fatimid rulers of Cairo in Egypt and is believed to be one of only seven surviving pieces of its kind.

The 1,000-year-old item was sold to an anonymous bidder for £3,177,250.

The ewers were originally carved from a single piece of flawless rock crystal, which was hollowed out, leaving a surface just 2mm thick.

One of the other six examples is in London's Victoria & Albert Museum.

They are said to be the most desirable works of art from the Islamic world.