A rare 15th-century Chinese porcelain bowl that somehow showed up at a garage sale for just $ 35 was bought at auction Wednesday for nearly $ 722,000.
The small white bowl adorned with flowers and other cobalt blue painted designs – one of only seven known to exist – belonged to several Chinese works of art auctioned by Sotheby’s as part of the week of Asian events. The names of the seller and buyer have not been released.
Sotheby’s estimated the artifact’s value to be between $ 300,000 and $ 500,000. Wednesday’s auction started with an online bid of $ 200,000 and ended with a bid of $ 580,000 from a bidder over the phone. The official price, including premiums and fees, was $ 721,800.
An antique enthusiast came across the Ming Dynasty piece and thought it might be something special when he came across it at a New Haven yard sale last year, according to Sotheby’s. The buyer then sent information and photos to the auctioneer by email requesting an evaluation.
“It was immediately apparent … that we were looking at something very, very special,” Angela McAteer, senior vice president and director of Sotheby’s Department of Chinese Art Pieces, told The Associated Press. “The style of painting, the shape of the bowl, even the color blue is very characteristic of that early period of porcelain in the early 15th century.”
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Sotheby’s confirmed it was from the 14th century when they could see it in person – no scientific evidence was required, just the trained eye and hand of specialists. The bowl was very smooth to the touch, the varnish silky smooth, and the distinctive color and patterns of that period.
It dates back to the era of the Yongle Emperor, the third ruler of the Ming Dynasty, and was manufactured by the Yongle court. The Yongle Court is known to usher in a new style of porcelain kilns in the city of Jingdezhen, and the bowl is a quintessential Yongle product, according to Sotheby’s.
It is shaped like a lotus bud or chicken heart. Inside, it is decorated with a medallion in the background and a quatrefoil surrounded by flowers. Outside, it has four lotus flowers, peonies, chrysanthemums and pomegranates. It also has intricate patterns on the top, both internal and external.
McAteer said only six other of these bowls are known, and most are in museums. No other is in the United States. According to the auction house, there are two at the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan, two at museums in London, and one at the National Museum of Iran in Tehran.
How the bowl ended up at a Connecticut yard sale is a mystery. McAteer said it may have been passed down from generation to generation in a family that had no idea of its value.