Woman gets over $100k for vase bought at Goodwill for $3.99

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A woman who purchased a glass vase at Goodwill for $3.99 just bagged over $100,000 for it at auction. Regretfully, I am not this woman. Jessica Vincent thought her find might be valuable after spotting an ‘M’ on the bottom presumed to be for Murano, the Venetian island famed for glass blowing. Then an expert confirmed the piece was part of the Pennellate series by prominent Italian architect Carlo Scarpa. Scarpa was famous in his home country for revitalizing museum spaces, and apparently he also dabbled in glassware. There’s gonna be a massive stampede to Goodwill stores now, right?

A woman who bought a glass vase for $3.99 at a local Goodwill charity shop has seen the piece auctioned off for more than $100,000 after it turned out to be a rare and valuable piece of Italian glassware.

Jessica Vincent had bought the item at a Goodwill thrift store in Hanover county, Virginia, and had an inkling that it might have been worth a little more than was usual, she told the New York Times.

“I had a sense that it might be a $1,000 or $2,000 piece, but I had no clue how good it actually was until I did a little bit more research,” she told the paper after noticing a small ‘M’ on its bottom which she suspected might stand for Murano, and Italian island near Venice famed for glasswork.

After snapping it up for a penny short of four bucks, Vincent researched the piece online where enthusiasts pointed out it resembled a work by the famous Italian architect Carlo Scarpa.

Vincent eventually sent pictures of the vase to the Wright Auction House and almost immediately its president, Richard Wright, got in touch for a chat. “The minute I saw the photos I had a really good feeling,” Wright told the Times.

Last week it sold for $107,100 to an unidentified private art collector in Europe after it was officially identified as being part of Scarpa’s 1940s “Pennellate” series.

[From The Guardian]

Oh man, she hit the thrift store jackpot! I could be jealous (and I am), but I’m also plotting. You guys, my mother has a collection of mid-century Murano glass ashtrays. She doesn’t smoke, she just likes them as objet d’art. She’s also looking to downsize. So right now I have dollar signs in my eyes like Daffy or Scrooge McDuck (pick your favorite duck), dreaming of the fortunes that could be reaped. A quick perusal at Etsy, however, has swiftly brought me back down to earth. Prices for similar ashtrays range from $25 – $425. No slouch, but no $100k either. But I bet we could put away a decent stash if we add in some of our vintage Pyrex dishes. So I guess I’ll be at this “working for a living” thing for a little while longer, sigh.

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