The collection, sold by Clive's descendants, fetched more than three times Christie's estimate, the paper said. The highest price was more than £2.9 million, paid by an anonymous bidder for a 17th century jewelled flask said to have been looted from the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah by Nadir Shah, a Persian king who invaded India in 1739.
'It is uncertain how it was acquired by Clive of India, as he became known after a series of campaigns culminating in the Battle of Plassey in 1757 which brought most of the sub-continent under British control,' The Telegraph said.
Other articles at the auction included a fly whisk made from banded agate and inset with rubies, 'which had been expected to sell for only £5,000 to £8,000, fetched 113 times its upper estimate when it was sold for £901,250,' the paper said.
'A dagger with a pistol-grip hilt inlaid with rubies, emeralds and diamonds, which had been estimated at £35,000 to £50,000, sold for £733,250. And a hukka set decorated with sapphires was bought for £94,850,' it said.
The collection was on display in British museums until recently when the family decided to sell it. Clive, who faced a parliamentary inquiry over charges of corruption when he returned to England in 1767, committed suicide in 1774.
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