A museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has sold an exquisite vase -- long tucked away in storage -- for a windfall at auction. The piece was made in the early 1700s at the order of the Chinese emperor Qianlong. 

The vase was offered in Christie's Hong Kong spring sales series that fetched a total $399 million from 18 sales across 6 days.

From Tulsa World:

A rarely displayed Chinese vase that has been a part of the Philbrook Museum of Art’s permanent collection since 1960 was sold at auction Wednesday by Christie’s Hong Kong for $14.5 million.

Philbrook plans to use the proceeds from this sale to fund the museum’s endowment for new acquisitions of art.

“This sale will provide us with a way to broaden our collection, to help us create an even greater impact on our community through the art we exhibit and the stories we tell with that art,” said Philbrook director Scott Stulen. “This one piece will potentially allow us to purchase hundreds of other works of art.”