Ananova:

A Chinese porcelain expert looks set to lose his luxury home after an idle TV boast backfired.

Xin Liangkun, 53, of Dalian city, claimed no one could reproduce the five-layer ball he created, reports Henan Business News.

"This ball was my first piece, and only I understand how it was made," he told a television documentary.

"If anyone can reproduce it, I'l give him my three-storey building, and the collections within it."

Xin says it took him ten years to make the ball which was made so that each of the five balls can turn inside without touching the others.

But less than six months later, Sun Zheng, a young porcelain amateur from Luoyang city, created exactly the same thing.

"At first he said my replica had internal noise. So I improved the technique, and created a perfect one. Then he said the procedure must have been different," says Sun.

However, a court ruled that Xin's TV pledge has the same validity as a signed contract, and must be fulfilled.

If Xin does not appeal within 15 days he will lose his £100,000 three-storey home and his prized porcelain collection.