An eagle-eyed woman from Virginia reportedly managed to pocket more than US$100,000 last week after getting her hands on a vase by a famous Italian architect, even though it was purchased for just a few dollars among thrift store items .
“I had a feeling it was maybe a $1,000 or $2,000 piece, but I had no idea how good it was until I did a little more research,” lucky customer Jessica Vincent told the New York Times on Sunday.
It was in a Goodwill charity store in Hanover County that the woman allegedly found the green and red glass vase, marked with a small “M”, which she suspected came from Murano, an Italian island near Venice well known for its glassware, she continued to the American newspaper.
Except that after posting a photo online in glass identification groups, she discovered that the vase purchased for the modest sum of US$3.99 bore great resemblances to the work of Italian architect Carlo Scarpa , would have pointed out amateurs.
She then reportedly decided to send photos of the vase to Wright Auction House for an appraisal.
“As soon as I saw the photos, I had a very good feeling,” President Richard Wright told the “New York Times.”
The Italian piece, formally identified as an item from Scarpa’s “Pennellate” collection dating from the 1940s, reportedly sold for US$107,000 last week to a private collector in Europe.
For her Christmas-themed find and a few dollars spent, Jessica Vincent would have pocketed a total of $83,500 – a great gift just before the holidays.
