A particularly macabre object is to go on permanent exhibition at Twickenham's 'Little Gothic castle' - created in the 18th Century by author Horace Walpole.

The beautiful, large blue and white bowl or tub is returning home to Strawberry Hill House.

It became infamous after Walpole's favourite cat, Selima, drowned in it while trying to catch goldfish that were kept in it.

And this tragic incident was later immortalised in a mock-heroic ode by Walpole's friend, the poet Thomas Gray – Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat, Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes (1747).

A number of paintings chronicling the sad end to Selima were also produced at the time. One by Stephen Elmer painted her perched on the bowl, although he changed Gray's tabby depiction to a tortoiseshell, and the porcelain container to a clear bowl.

The cat's death actually occurred at Walpole's London house, in Arlington Street. The bowl, along with many other works of art, was then moved to Strawberry Hill sometime in the 1760s.

In 1773, Walpole commissioned a Gothic-style pedestal for the tub and it carried an inscription of first stanza of the poem.

It appears that it was sold to the Earl of Derby for the grand sum of £42 in 1842 and remained in the family's collection ever since. However, it has now been given a new permanent place at Strawberry Hill House after being returned using the Acceptance in Lieu Scheme.

The scheme allows those who have an Inheritance Tax bill to pay the tax by transferring important cultural, scientific or historic objects and archives to the nation, settling a £790,000 bill.

Alongside its grim notoriety, it seems the tub is an outstanding work of art in its own right.

The 17th century piece decorated in the 'Three Friends of Winter' pattern with pine, prunus and bamboo. The quality of every aspect of the jardiniere is superior; from the shaping of the pot, to the glazing and firing, all demonstrate a remarkable level of artistry.

Derek Purnell, director at Strawberry Hill House & Garden, said the jardiniere's true value emerged recently.

He added: "Traditionally described as a typical 18th-century Chinese product, made for a foreign clientele, Walpole's porcelain vase is in reality an older and more valuable object."