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£1 Vase Becomes £32,450 Treasure!
18 Oct
Summary
- A woman bought a glass vase for £1 at a car-boot sale.
- The vase was identified as a rare 1929 René Lalique creation.
- It was later sold at auction for £32,450.
In 2008, a woman acquired a glass vase for a mere £1 at a car-boot sale in Dumfries, Scotland, simply because she found it visually appealing and used it to hold a plant. Unbeknownst to her, the item was a rare piece crafted by the renowned French designer René Lalique.
Experts identified the vase as a 1929 'Feuilles Fougères' design by Lalique. The piece, standing approximately 12.5 cm high, featured a cire perdue technique with green staining and bore Lalique's mark.
This rare find was subsequently auctioned at Christie's in London on November 12, 2008. It fetched a final price of £32,450, significantly exceeding its pre-sale estimate of £20,000-£30,000.
The story garnered media attention, with The Guardian and Evening Standard reporting on how an unassuming second-hand purchase could yield such a remarkable return, emphasizing the element of surprise and luck involved.
