If you love thrifting and going to yard sales, you are going to like this story! It’s a find of a lifetime!
Back in 2013, the seemingly simple bowl seen above, was found at a yard sale and later sold at auction for $2.2 million! Originally purchased for $3, a serious profit was made.
Cecilia Leung of Sotheby’s obtained this $2.2 million bowl while attending a tag sale from a consignor’s home that was nearby. Leung says that the previous owner had used the bowl as a decorative table piece in their living room for several years before deciding to assess it. Sotheby’s presale estimated that the bowl could be sold between $200,000 and $300,000.
This item is known as a “Ding Bowl” and is considered to be an incredible example of Northern Song Dynasty Pottery. Sotheby’s states that this kind of pottery is remarkable and has exceptional beauty. The only other bowl that is known to resemble anything like this one resides in the collection of the British Museum for over the past 60-years. This then lead to the auction war for the bowl which was sold to a London dealer, known as Giussepe Eskenazi, for $2,225,000.
This awesome story alone proves how you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover and you just never know what you are going to find at a yard sale.
If you are a serious thrifter, you know the importance of educating yourself on what has value and what doesn’t. In this case, a little knowledge went a long way and ended up in a massive payday!