CHINESE PORCELAIN has been achieving startlingly high prices at auctions in Ireland and overseas in recent years.

The reason? Newly wealthy Chinese collectors are targeting auction houses worldwide to snap up items which represent the country's imperial past. A vast amount of Chinese porcelain was exported to Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries - and some was brought home by colonial soldiers, diplomats and adventurers.

Even experts accept that oriental ceramics can be difficult to value and, occasionally, pieces with modest valuations can become the subject of frenzied bidding and sell for vast multiples of their estimated value.

Examples of such "sleepers" include a Carlow family's inherited vase - valued at €150 - which turned out, purportedly, to have a Qianlong imperial provenance and sold for €110,000 at Sheppard's auctioneers in Durrow two years ago; and a Ming dynasty dish, valued for probate in Co Derry for £1,000, which made €310,000 at Adam's last year.

If you own a piece of Chinese porcelain and think it might be valuable, then head to the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin tomorrow (noon to 4pm) for a lecture and free valuation. The event is part of Dublin City Council's Chinese New Year cultural programme, in association with Sheppard's Irish Auction House. Prof Alan Fletcher of UCD, a well-known collector of oriental ceramics, will deliver a talk at noon on Chinese porcelain - patterns, provenance and pitfalls. Afterwards he will show items from his personal collection and provide free valuations for pieces brought in by members of the public