Logo

Fun Non-TV Story of the Day: A Very Plain White Bowl With More Than a Few Dings Was Bought at a Garage Sale Six Years Ago for $3. We Would’ve Paid a Buck Fifty, Tops. It Sold Yesterday for … $2.2 Million

Mar 20, 2013  •  Post A Comment

A well-used, slightly dinged-up bowl, shown below, purchased for no more than $3 at a garage sale was sold at auction Tuesday for more than $2.2 million.

Reuters reports that the unassuming item bought at a sale in New York state turned out to be a 1,000-year-old Chinese bowl.

“An unnamed New York family bought the ‘Ding’ bowl, which is from the Northern Song Dynasty, for no more than $3 in 2007 and displayed it on a mantelpiece with no idea as to its real worth, Sotheby’s said,” according to the report.

“After consulting with experts, the owners consigned the bowl for auction. Sotheby’s estimated it would sell for $200,000 to $300,000. London dealer Giuseppe Eskenazi paid $2,225,000 including commission for the bowl, which measures just over five inches in diameter, at the auction in New York City.”

According to the piece, Sotheby’s noted that the British Museum in London has had “the only known bowl of the same form, size and almost identical decoration” in its collection for more than 60 years.

ding-bowl-garage-sale.jpg

Your Comment

Email (will not be published)