Glass Bottle Bought for 5,000 Won at a Secondhand Store Brings '130 Million Won Luck'

Famous Italian Architect Carlo Scarpa-Designed Used Glass Bottle Sold for 130 Million KRW at Auction

A glass vase purchased for about 5,000 won at a secondhand store in the United States was revealed to be the work of an Italian master, and it was sold at auction for over 100 million won.

According to the US daily The New York Times (NYT) on the 17th (local time), a vase submitted to the Wright auction house last week was sold for $107,000 (about 139 million won). It was confirmed to be a glass vase designed by the famous Italian architect Carlo Scarpa (1906?1978).

Initially, experts expected the winning bid to be around $30,000 to $50,000 (about 39 million to 65 million won), but the final bid far exceeded this. The winning bidder is reported to be a private collector from Europe whose identity has not been disclosed.

Glass vase by famous Italian architect Carlo Scarpa.
[Image source=Light Auction House website·Yonhap News]

The vase was purchased by a woman named Jessica Vincent (43) in June at a secondhand store located in Hanover County, Virginia, USA. The purchase price at the time was $3.99 (about 5,180 won).

Jessica said she found the glass vase while browsing a secondhand store she frequently visited. She noticed the letter "M" stamped on the bottom of the vase and felt it might be worth between $1,000 and $2,000 (about 1.3 million to 2.6 million won). She judged that the "M" was an initial representing Murano Island, the birthplace of Italian glass art.

However, the glass vase did not have a price tag. Jessica recalled that she intended to buy it if it was cheaper than $8.99 (about 12,000 won), and since the price was only $3.99, she purchased it immediately.

After buying it, she wanted to learn more about the vase and joined a related Facebook group. Some members said the vase looked like a work by Carlo Scarpa and introduced her to the Wright auction house. Richard Wright, the director of the auction house, said he had a "very good feeling" as soon as he saw the photo of the glass vase Jessica sent.

Experts judged this work to be one of the 'Fenellate' series designed by Scarpa in the 1940s. Director Wright explained that the condition of the glass vase Jessica sent was perfect, and if there had been even a slight scratch, the winning bid would not have reached $10,000 (about 13 million won).

Jessica said that after deducting auction fees from the winning bid of $107,000, she received $83,500 (about 108.5 million won) and plans to use this money to repair the heating system and fence of a farmhouse she purchased earlier this year and to buy home appliances.