Second-hand Chinese bowl bought for $35 turns out to be rare artefact worth $500,000

The person who bought the item, which was found in a jumble sale, wants to remain anonymous

The bowl dates back to the 15th century and is one of only seven such artefacts known to be in existence. AP

A small porcelain bowl bought for $35 at a jumble sale in the US state of Connecticut turned out to be a rare, 15th century Chinese artefact worth between $300,000 and $500,000. It is about to go up for auction at Sotheby's.

The white bowl adorned with cobalt-blue paintings of flowers and other designs is about 16 centimetres in diameter. An antiques enthusiast found the piece and thought it could be something special when browsing a jumble sale in the New Haven area last year, Sotheby's said.

The piece, one of only seven such bowls known to exist in the world, will be up for auction in New York on March 17 as part of Sotheby’s auction of important Chinese art.

The buyer, who is not being named, paid the $35 asking price and later emailed information and images to Sotheby's asking for an valuation.

The auction house's experts on Chinese ceramics and art, Angela McAteer and Hang Yin, receive many similar emails every week, but this was one of the kind they dream about.

“It was immediately apparent to both of us that we were looking at something really very, very special,” said Ms McAteer, Sotheby’s senior vice president and head of its Chinese works of art department.

"The style of painting, the shape of the bowl, even just the colour of the blue is quite characteristic of that early, early 15th century period of porcelain."

The experts confirmed the bowl was from the 1400s when they were able to look at it in person. There are no scientific tests, only the trained eyes and hands of specialists.

The bowl was smooth to the touch, its glaze was silky and the colour and designs are distinctive of the period.

“All the characteristics and hallmarks are there that identify it as a product of the early Ming period,” Ms McAteer said.

Ms McAteer and Mr Yin determined the bowl dates back to the early 1400s during the reign of the Yongle Emperor, the third ruler of the Ming Dynasty, and was made for the Yongle court.

The court was known to have ushered in a new style to the porcelain kilns in the city of Jingdezhen and the bowl is a quintessential Yongle product, Sotheby's said.

The bowl was made in the shape of a lotus bud or chicken heart. Inside, it is decorated with a medallion at the bottom and a quatrefoil motif surrounded by flowers.

The exterior includes four blossoms of lotus, peony, chrysanthemum and pomegranate flower. There are also intricate patterns at the top of both the outside and inside of the bowl.

Five of the other such bowls known to exist are in museums. No others are in the US.

Deep dish with flowering plants near a rock and antiquities, China, c. 1700 - c. 1724, Qing-dynasty (1644-1912) / Kangxi-period (1662-1722). Getty Images

Bottle vase with antiquities, precious objects and auspicious symbols, China, c. 1680 - c. 1720, Qing-dynasty (1644-1912) / Kangxi-period (1662-1722). Getty Images

A Chinese museum official shows off an artefact of the Ming and Qing emperors displayed at the Forbidden City in Beijing. AFP

Ancient Chinese artifacts on display at the Terracotta Warriors exhibition at Discovery Times Square in New York City. AFP

Ancient Chinese artifacts on display at the Terracotta Warriors exhibition at Discovery Times Square in New York City. AFP

An early Ming underglaze copper-red vase is displayed after it was sold for a world record of US$10,122,558 for any Ming porcelain during Christie's "The Imperial Sale" auction in Hong Kong. Reuters

A specialist in Chinese artifacts uses a torch as he examines a large baluster-shaped vase decorated with blue deer under pines in Toulouse, during a presentation of a collection of pieces of Chinese and South East Asian art. AFP

There are two at the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan, two at museums in London and one in the National Museum of Iran in Tehran, Sotheby's said.

How the bowl ended up at a Connecticut jumble sale remains a mystery. Ms McAteer said it was possible it was passed down through generations of the same family who did not know how unique it was.

“It’s always quite astounding to think that it kind of still happens, that these treasures can be discovered,” Ms McAteer said.

“It’s always really exciting for us as specialists when something we didn’t even know existed here appears seemingly out of nowhere.”