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Bowl Purchased For $35 At Connecticut Yard Sale Could Be Worth Up To $500,000

(Monika Skolimowska/DPA/AFP via Getty Images)

Maria Lencki Contributor
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A bowl purchased at a Connecticut yard sale for only $35 could be worth up to $500,000, according to The Associated Press.

The six-inch porcelain bowl, ornamented with blue flowers, is actually a rare 15th-century Chinese artifact worth between $300,000 to $500,000. The bowl is one of a set of seven such bowls, according to the AP.

The piece will be auctioned at Sotheby’s Auction of Important Chinese Art in New York on March 17.

An antique enthusiast first discovered the bowl at a New Haven yard sale and thought that it was something special. The buyer, whose name is not being disclosed, bought the piece for $35 and later emailed Sotheby’s to ask for an evaluation, according to the AP.

Angela McAteer, Sotheby’s senior vice president and head of its Chinese Works of Art Department, and Hang Yin, an expert on Chinese ceramics and art, expressed to the AP how unique this antique is.

An employee paints a Delft Blue porcelain vase at Royal Delft on April 28, 2020. (Photo by Sem VAN DER WAL / ANP / AFP) / Netherlands OUT (Photo by SEM VAN DER WAL/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)

An employee paints a Delft Blue porcelain vase at Royal Delft on April 28, 2020. (Photo by Sem Van der Wal/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)

“It was immediately apparent to both of us that we were looking at something really very, very special,” McAteer told the AP. “The style of painting, the shape of the bowl, even just the color of the blue is quite characteristic of that early, early 15th century period of porcelain.”

The bowl is from the 1400s in the early Ming period. It was made for the Yongle court, which introduced a new style of porcelain kilns to Jingdezhen, the AP reported. No scientific tests can determine the item’s age, but specialists can determine it based on the designs.

The six other bowls are mostly found in museums, none of which are in the U.S., McAteer explained to the AP. (RELATED: 1 In 8 Museums Could Permanently Close Due To Financial Strain Caused By Coronavirus Shutdowns)

Two bowls are displayed at museums in London. Another bowl is located in the National Museum of Iran in Tehran. Lastly, two more bowls are located at the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan, according to the AP.

It is possible the bowl ended up at the yard sale after being passed down from generation to generation of a family, McAteer told the AP.

“It’s always quite astounding to think that it kind of still happens, that these treasures can be discovered,” McAteer said to the AP. “It’s always really exciting for us as specialists when something we didn’t even know existed here appears seemingly out of nowhere.”