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A COLLECTION of hundreds of antiques from Exbury House, home of the Rothschild family, has sold for more than £1.3m at auction.

The 220 lots included a 200-year-old micromosaic and marble table, made by an Italian artist who produced furniture for Napoleon, which sold for £200,000.

Auctioneers Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury said the sale was prompted by a redecoration programme at the New Forest stately home.

Exbury House was bought by Lionel de Rothschild in 1919, and the surrounding gardens have been open to the public since 1950.

The metre-high table, which is thought to have been sold for only the second time since it was made, was valued in 1918 for the equivalent of £3,500.

It is believed to have been made by Giacomo Raffaelli, the inventor of the micromosaic technique, at the turn of the 19th century.

It was bought by Alfred de Rothschild during the 1800s for Halton House in Buckinghamshire, where it remained until being moved to Exbury around 100 years ago.

Four telephone bidders fought against a determined buyer in the room at the end of the five-hour sale at the auction house.

Bidding opened at £35,000 and rapidly passed the conservative £40,000-£60,000 guide price.

Specialist Mark Yuan-Richards, who was handling the auction, said: "The Rothschild family have long had a well-deserved reputation for sourcing exceptional pieces from high quality and talented craftsmen. That is exemplified by this piece of finely detailed craftsmanship by one of the leading artists of the time."

Other highlights of the auction were an 18th century Chinese cloisonné cong vase which sold for £75,000, a pair of Louis XV ormolu fire dogs which sold for £62,500, a pair of Louis XVI rock crystal and ormolu candlesticks at £37,500, an Italian embossed parade shield from the 19th century, selling at £60,000, and an important pair of rosewood and ormolu-mounted tables at £65,000.