Ceramics from the Ming Dynasty that were sold for 800 million won. /Photo = Sotheby’s homepage capture
[아시아경제 최은영 기자] It was revealed that the ordinary bowl bought at a flea market for 40,000 won was actually a genuine ceramic made during the Ming Dynasty, and it was sold for 800 million won, a price of more than 20,000 times.
On the 18th, major foreign media such as CNN reported that ceramics bought for less than 40,000 won in the US second-hand trading market were auctioned off at 800 million won at Sotheby’s auction.
Sotheby’s initially predicted the value of the ceramics from $300,000 (about 339 million won) to $500,000 (56.56.5 million won), but the actual winning price was higher than that of $72,1800 (86,13 million won).
At this auction, which started at $200,000 the previous day, the price of ceramics rose as bids for ceramics continued, and the owners sold ceramics at a whopping 20,000 times higher price.
The pottery seller discovered the pottery last October at a “yard sale” in a house near New Haven, Connecticut. He bought the pottery for $35 (39,500 won), and left Sotheby’s appraisal.
As a result of the appraisal of this pottery, Sotheby’s estimated that it was a genuine product produced during the Yeongnak Festival in the early 1400s during the Ming Dynasty, and the appraised value was as low as $300,000 and as low as $500,000.
“You can see the incredibly smooth and soft glaze of the body,” said Angela McArtier, director of the Chinese art division at Sotheby’s. “It’s a mystery of how this pottery flowed into a home in Connecticut.”
According to Sotheby’s, this pottery is a rare thing, with only six pieces of similar antiques around the world. Similar ceramics are stored in other institutions, such as the National Palace Museum in Taiwan and the British Museum in London, England.
Intern reporter Choi Eun-young [email protected]