Who has never cherished the hope of discovering a masterpiece in their attic?
The owner of a Chinese vase initially estimated at 2,000 euros saw its price soar at auction to more than 9 million euros - including costs -, we learned on Saturday from the auction house. at the Osenat auction.
The seller lives in a French overseas territory.
"She is a lady who inherited the vase from her mother, who herself inherited it from her mother, a great Parisian collector in the last century
," Osenat's director of art objects told AFP. , Cedric Laborde.
The object was part of the possessions left by the seller's mother when she died, in her apartment in Saint-Briac-sur-Mer, on the Brittany coast.
The saleswoman
“was far away, she didn't even see the vase, she had it transported to Paris.
It's an insane story
,” said auctioneer Jean-Pierre Osenat.
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This Tianqiuping vase, blue and white, in porcelain and polychrome enamels, with drawings of dragons and clouds, is 54 cm high and 40 cm in diameter.
Estimated by experts at between 1,500 and 2,000 euros, it was won thanks to an auction of 7.7 million euros, i.e. a price - including costs - of 9.121 million euros.
"Madam owner, if you see us on the Internet, stay seated
," joked auctioneer Jean-Pierre Osenat, when the 7 million euro mark was crossed.
“From the moment we made the catalog public, we saw that there was a lot of movement: the Chinese came to see the vase, more and more numerous. The expert said that he continued to think that he was not old
, ”said Cédric Laborde.
The sale gave rise to a bidding battle between 20 to 30 bidders, the majority on the telephone, a few in the room.
The whole question is to know when it dates from.
If it is from the 20th century, as the experts have concluded, the object is relatively banal.
If it's from the 18th century, that makes it an extremely rare piece, justifying the purchase price.
The buyer is Chinese.
“The Chinese are passionate about their history and are proud to reclaim their heritage.
I think that this vase is not intended to be hidden from view, but exhibited in a museum”
, according to the director of the department of works of art of the auction house.
As for the saleswoman, she was stunned by the news.
“She could have sold it to the local antique shop.
It's a great story for this lady, and for my profession, for the very principle of public sales,”
said Cédric Laborde.