A bronze water vessel, known as the Tiger Ying, is sold at Canterbury Auction Galleries' auction on April 11, 2018. [Photo by Han Baoyi / China Daily]

A bronze relic believed to have been looted from the Old Summer Palace in Beijing in 1860 sold at auction in Canterbury, Kent on Tuesday for 410,000 pounds ($58,2000).

The sale of the Western Zhou Dynasty (c.11th century-771 BC) vessel had stirred up controversy in China and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage called for a boycott of the auction.

Tiger Ying is sold at an auction in Canterbury, Kent, for 410,000 pounds ($58,2000). The Canterbury Auction Galleries / For China Daily

Documents discovered by the auction house suggested British soldiers took the vessel from the Old Summer Palace during the Second Opium War (1856-1860).

Canterbury Auction Galleries expected the vessel to sell for between 120,000 pounds and 160,000 pounds but competitive bidding pushed the price well past that. The item was bought by a telephone bidder and there is no further information about the identity of the buyer.