• The painting had been 'lying dormant' at the school for years

• The final sale price was £34,000 and the proceeds will be re-invested

• 'The ensuing auction battle exceeded expectations'

• The painting was discovered 'in storage on floorboards'

• The guide price was just £1,000-£1,500

An Oriental painting discovered at Ashby School sparked a fierce international bidding battle at auction – and smashed its estimate to smithereens.

Now the proceeds are to be re-invested into the school to improve facilities for sixth form students.

The colourful abstract oil painting by Singaporean artist Cheong Soo Pieng was found tucked away in storage at the Hansons Auctioneers.

Signed by the artist and dated 1960, their experts immediately knew it was something special.

Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons, said: "Cheong is an artist celebrated for the part he played in developing modern art in Asia.

"As soon as our auction catalogue went live, interest was strong from the Far East.

"Even so, the ensuing auction battle exceeded expectations."

Three phone bidders battled against online competition to send the price sky-rocketing away from the painting's £1,000-£1,500 guide price.

The hammer finally fell at £25,000 with the lot secured by a phone bidder from the Far East at last Thursday's (July 1) auction.

The total price paid with buyer's premium was £34,600.

A spokesperson for Ashby School told Ashby Nub News: "A decision was made to sell the painting, following the closure of our boarding facility, where it was discovered in storage.

"Proceeds from its sale will be used to fund improvements to the site for our Sixth Form students."

Charles said: "This painting had been lying dormant for many years, a hidden gem sleeping in storage on floorboards.

"It was given as a gift to the school many decades ago and, despite some flaking paintwork, soared to success.

"It sparked an international bidding battle because Cheong Soo Pieng pioneered the Nanyang art style, an art movement practised by migrant Chinese painters in Singapore from the late 1940s to 1960s.

"It was a driving force in the development of modernism in art in Singapore.

"It's amazing when hidden gems like this emerge unexpectedly. I'm delighted for the school.

"Yet again, this sale demonstrates the strong demand for quality Oriental works by respected artists."

Cheong Soo Pieng (1917-1983) was known for his oil paintings, watercolours, Chinese ink and wash paintings.

He also developed a signature depiction of Southeast Asian indigenous tribal people with elongated limbs and torso and almond-shaped faces and eyes.

Cheong, the youngest of seven children in Amoy, China, studied art at the Xiamen Academy of Fine Art in 1933. In 1936 he graduated and attended the Xinhua Academy of Fine Art in Shanghai for further studies.