A Vase Bought for 4,000 Won at a UK Charity Shop Turns Out to Be an Artwork Worth Over 14 Million Won

Chilbo Artist Japanese Craftsman Namikawa Yasuyuki's Work
To Be Sold at Auction, Proceeds Donated to Charity Shop

A small vase purchased for about 4,000 won at a charity shop in the UK was revealed to be an artwork worth over 14 million won.

On the 13th (local time), according to CNN and others in the US, the couple Ahmet and Karen discovered a palm-sized small vase at a charity shop in Surrey County, southeastern England.

Karen said, "My husband Ahmet and I often visit charity shops," adding, "I always look at books, and he mainly checks out artworks and antiques."

She continued, "Ahmet is not an expert, but he has excellent taste," and said, "He showed me this vase, and I said 'It's pretty,' but at first, I dismissed it." Ahmet also admired the painting engraved on the surface of the vase.

[Image source=The Canterbury Auction Galleries Facebook]

The couple had no idea about the value of the vase. However, they purchased the vase for 2.5 pounds (about 4,140 won) to have it appraised by an expert.

Later, after the appraisal, experts confirmed that the vase was a work by the late Namikawa Yasuyuki (1845?1927), a Japanese potter and cloisonn? artisan.

Cliona Kilroy, co-director of Canterbury Auction Galleries in the UK, explained, "Works by Yasuyuki and the Kyoto workshop are very popular," adding, "Yasuyuki and Namikawa Sosuke were the most famous cloisonn? artists during the 'Golden Age' of Japanese cloisonn? in the late 18th and early 19th centuries."

'Cloisonn?' is a craft technique that expresses colors by applying various glazes on base materials such as gold, silver, copper, clay, and glass, and firing them at high temperatures of about 800 degrees Celsius. Especially, wire cloisonn? creates patterns with metal wire outlines, and Yasuyuki is famous as a wire cloisonn? artisan.

Kilroy said, "Yasuyuki's vase features very intricate and naturalistic depictions of a rooster and hen on a black background," adding, "This is Yasuyuki's trademark."

Meanwhile, the vase is scheduled to be auctioned from the 29th to the 30th. Karen plans to donate the proceeds from the auction to the charity shop where she purchased the vase. The estimated auction price is up to about 9,000 pounds (approximately 14.93 million won).