At auction on Tuesday, a Chinese bowl that is 1,000 years old and was purchased for only a few dollars at a garage sale in New York state fetched more than $2.2 million.
According to Sotheby’s, the “Ding” bowl, which originates from the Northern Song Dynasty, was bought by an unnamed New York family in 2007 for no more than $3 and had been displayed on a mantelpiece, completely unaware of its true value.
Once the owners consulted with experts, they decided to consign the bowl for auction. Sotheby’s had projected it would sell for between $200,000 and $300,000. However, London dealer Giuseppe Eskenazi acquired the bowl for $2,225,000, which includes the commission, at the auction held in New York City; the bowl measures just over five inches in diameter.
Sotheby’s noted that only one other bowl of the same form, size, and nearly identical decoration has been in the British Museum’s collection in London for over 60 years.
