A 450-year-old vase that was unsympathetically converted to a table lamp is still thought to be able to fetch more than £1,000 in an auction in Devizes this weekend.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge found the 16th century Venetian Maiolica vase in a cupboard at the home of a Devizes woman who had other items she wanted to sell.

Alan Aldridge, senior partner in Henry Aldridge & Son auctioneers, said: “Someone had taken off the neck of the vase and broken a hole in the bottom to insert the electrical fitting.

“If it was undamaged it would be worth many thousands of pounds.”

Also in the sale are more items from the collection of Lieutenant Commander David Howlett, who was Keeper of the Royal Apartments.

The sale begins at 10am on Saturday.