New York – A bowl bought at a flea market turned out to be an expensive Chinese antique – and has now been auctioned in New York for more than $ 720,000. Sotheby’s auction house in New York announced on Wednesday (local time) that a man discovered the bowl with its blue and white floral design at a flea market in Connecticut, USA, and bought it spontaneously for $ 35.
He then had the piece examined by experts from the auction house, who came to the conclusion that it was a very rare bowl from the Chinese Ming dynasty between the 14th and 17th centuries. Only six other bowls of this type are known – and most of them are in renowned museums such as the British Museum in London, it is said. At auction on Wednesday, the piece then fetched $ 721,800 – significantly more than the auction house’s expected $ 500,000 and more than 20,000 times what it cost at the flea market. (APA / dpa)