It Turned Out to Be an Authentic Ming Dynasty Porcelain... The Bowl Bought for 40,000 Won at a Flea Market Sold for Over 800 Million Won, More Than 20,000 Times the Price

A Ming Dynasty ceramic piece sold for around 800 million won.
Photo by Sotheby's website capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] An ordinary bowl bought for 40,000 won at a flea market was revealed to be an authentic Ming Dynasty-era ceramic, and it was sold for 800 million won, more than 20,000 times the original price.

On the 18th, major foreign media including CNN reported that a ceramic purchased for less than 40,000 won in the US secondhand market was auctioned for 800 million won at Sotheby's.

Sotheby's initially estimated the value of the ceramic between $300,000 (about 333 million won) and $500,000 (556.5 million won), but the actual winning bid was even higher at $721,800 (816.13 million won).

The auction, which started at $200,000 the previous day, saw continued bidding on the ceramic, driving the price up, and the owner sold the ceramic at a price that was an astonishing 20,000 times higher.

The seller discovered the ceramic last October at a yard sale near New Haven, Connecticut. He purchased the ceramic for $35 (about 39,500 won) and submitted it to Sotheby's for appraisal.

Sotheby's appraisal concluded that the ceramic was an authentic piece made during the reign of Emperor Yongle in the early 1400s of the Ming Dynasty, estimating its value between $300,000 and $500,000.

Angela McAtier, head of Sotheby's Chinese art department, said, "The body is incredibly smooth with a soft glaze," and added, "It is a mystery how this ceramic ended up in a house in Connecticut."

According to Sotheby's, this ceramic is a rare piece, with only six similar antiques worldwide. Similar ceramics are held by institutions such as the National Palace Museum in Taiwan and the British Museum in London, UK.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.