My parents loved searching for the rare find at yard sales. They often touted their find of a real string of pearls that they found for a few dollars in a “junk jewelry” pile.
But in terms of a piece of junk turning into treasure, this particular yard sale story wins the prize. A family in New York was shopping at a yard sale back in 2007 when they spotted a beige ceramic bowl among the stuff.
The bowl had a lovely floral pattern that caught their eye so they paid $3 for it and took it home.
Photo credit: Sotheby’s
The pretty 5-inch ceramic bowl sat on the mantle in the living room for years before the owners grew curious about its origins. They brought it to an assessor and were shocked to learn they had a rare treasure on their hands!
“At the time, the purchaser had no idea that they had happened upon a 1,000-year-old treasure,” Cecilia Leung of Sotheby’s told CNN.
Photo credit: Sotheby’s
They never would have dreamed that the bowl was a “Ding” Bowl from the Northern Song Dynasty in China and a highly sought after antiquity! The ceramic from the time is known for thin lines and its ivory finishing.
Photo credit: Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s put the ceramic piece up for auction and noted that “Only one other bowl of the same form, size and almost identical decoration is known; the piece in the British Museum London.”
The bowl went on auction in 2013 with a price estimate of $200,000-$300,000. The actual sell price? A cool $2,225,000. Wow!
I’m sure the family is very, very happy they held onto their yard sale find!
Have you ever discovered a hidden gem? Share this amazing find with your friends and family!
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