A PAIR of jade elephants that sat on either side of a Chinese emperor's throne are set to sell for millions of pounds after being unearthed in Dorset.

The important pale green pieces made for Emperor Qianlong in the 18th century have been sitting in Crichel House in Moor Crichel, near Wimborne, for the last 60 years.

They were bought by one of the Queen Mother's goddaughters, Mary Anna Marten OBE, who died earlier this year.

They are to be sold by auctioneers Woolley and Wallis in Salisbury, which last year sold a similar jade water buffalo for an astonishing £3.4 million.

With the Chinese market buoyant the hope is that these exceptional elephants that are marked with the Qianlong stamp will do equally well.

The pair were probably brought to Britain in the 19th century and were bought by Mrs Marten in 1953.

Measuring 7.5 inches long and 6.5 inches high, the Asian elephants have tusks and were made by China's finest craftsmen.

They were created for one of Qianlong’s throne rooms and were situated either side of the throne itself. Originally they would have been on a specially built base and were decorated with caparisons.

John Axford, from the auction house, said: “During the Qing Dynasty, elephants carrying vases on their backs appeared in processions to celebrate the emperor’s birthday.

“And so these massive quadrupeds continued to be a popular subject for portrayal in the decorative arts.

“These examples are extremely important and we know they were made to sit either side of the throne.

“They were made in the 18th century, probably in about 1760 or 1770 and are stunning pieces of green-grey jade.

“What makes them particularly desirable is that they have the Qianlong mark on them and you don’t often see this.

“We have a track record of selling precious pieces of jade and the Chinese market at the moment is very good.”

The sale is on May 19.