Tuesday, May 19, 2009

YARD SALE TREASURE

Chinese porcelain vase
There still are treasures to be found. A decorated yellow Chinese porcelain vase bought at a Florida yard sale years ago looked like a good copy of an 18th-century piece. It was put into a Brunk auction (Asheville, N.C.) as a modern copy, but the surprising final price was $1,236,250. At least two bidders thought it was real. Another Chinese jar decorated with dragons, thought to be a copy of a 16th-century piece, sold for $69,000 at the same auction.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love stores like this. But it is a cautionary tale. You always should try to figure out what you have before you go housecleaning and toss or sell something that is worth some $$.

Anita Rogers said...

And this is one reason why I still love to go to yard sales, because you never know what you may find there.

Anonymous said...

In the case of e-bay and fakes I believe that it is a buyer beware situation. If you are going to purchase an item via the internet be sure to ask all questions and seek as much information as possible. Ask the seller for a verification of authenticity from a reputable antique dealer and view all photos carefully! Sometimes in this world of fakes sometimes even the seller is not sure of the authenticity!