Last year, Kelly Clarkson, "Stronger" singer, put in a bid to buy one of Jane Austen's rings through a bid at Sotheby's.  She won, purchasing the ring for £152,450 (about $235,700).  Now, the piece of jewelry may stay in England after the Jane Austen's House museum has received an anonomous donation of £100,000 (about $150,000).

Earlier this month, the British government placed a temporary export ban on the gold-and-turquoise ring in the hope that money could be found to keep it in Britain, according to The Huffington Post.  The museum said it had raised 103,200 pounds of the 152,450-pound asking price since launching a fundraising campaign on Friday, most of it from a single anonymous donation. 

"We are two-thirds of the way there in 48 hours, which is tremendous, but we're not there yet," said museum fundraiser Louise West. 

The museum had originally planned to buy it at auction last year, but Clarkson bought it for five times the estimated going price, so the museum was outbid.  

They have until December to raise the other third of the money in order to buy the ring back.  Clarkson, an Austen fan who owns a first edition copy of the author's "Persuasion," has agreed to sell the ring should a buyer come forward.  

However, "the ring should stay in this country, because there is so little of Austen's personal effects left," according to West.

"We were very excited that someone like Kelly Clarkson was a fan of Jane Austen," said Louise West, the museum's manager. "It's not what you'd expect from a young, cool U.S. pop singer. It says a lot about Austen's popularity and who she's popular with. It's not just middle-aged women."

If the ring is kept in Britain, the museum plans to display it next year during celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the publication of Austen's "Mansfield Park," according to the Los Angeles Times.

Clarkson has an open invitation to visit the museum anytime she wants, if the ring ends up there.

The ring was given to Austen's sister Cassandra, when Austen passed away in 1817.  It stayed in the family until the auction last year.