$25 Jars Bought at Thrift Store Found To Be Qing Dynasty Antiques Worth $74,500
A pair of 4.5-inch jars purchased by an unnamed "passionate collector" at a London thrift store for $25 sold for $74,500 at Rosebery's auction house on Tuesday
A "passionate collector" in London is celebrating one of the greatest thrift store purchases of all time.
On Tuesday, a pair of 4.5-inch jars purchased for $25 by the unnamed collected sold for $74,500 at Rosebery's auction house in the British capital, per reports
The delicate Chinese "lotus and chrysanthemum" jars were found to be Qing Dynasty produced in the 18th century.
"They definitely have a presence that's hard to explain," Bill Forrest, associate director and head of Chinese, Japanese and Southeast Asian art at Rosebery's told CNN about the antique jars.
"A really good piece of imperial porcelain so well manufactured, so well produced with such skill and care, that they kind of exude a presencethatis kind of very difficult to explain."
Forrest added that the collector did not know the value of the jars when they originally picked them up from the thrift store but just felt they "had to acquire them."
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"I think anyone who is in the presence of imperial Chinese porcelain, regardless of their experience, will feel drawn to them on some level," Forrest said, noting that the seller discovered the items' potential value when researching the "Qianlong" inscription found on the bottom of the jars.
After examination, Rosebery's later found both jars stamped with a six-character seal which proved their valuable provenance.
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On the auction house's website, the jars are described as being "finely painted in underglaze blue and enameled in iron-red, yellow and green enamels with roundels of chrysanthemum flower heads, interspersed with leafy lotus meanders."
"As often the case with doucai-enamelled Imperial porcelain of the 18th century, the design of the present lot is inspired by a Chenghua prototype, such as the jar with butterflies and chrysanthemum roundels in the Qing Court Collection"
The sale was part of a "Chinese, Japanese & South East Asian Art: Day One" live auction event at the auction house. A pair of similar jars with their lids intact sold at Sotheby's in November 2021 for around $347,000, CNN reported.
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