An Antiques Roadshow guest purchased a vase for £8 from a charity shop and was shocked to discover its interesting history and shocking true value
An Antiques Roadshow guest was gobsmacked after learning a vase he purchased at a charity shop for £8 is actually a Ming Dynasty vase worth £10,000.
Expert Lars Tharp shared the exciting news when the unsuspecting guest brought three items – a vase, a plate and a china bowl – in for a valuation. Every item was made from different time periods in China. The bowl, which was used as a brush washer, was from the Qing Dynasty and was purchased for £50.
Lars told the guest that it could be sold for around £3,000 at auction. “Now be careful, they are breakable,” he told the delighted guest before moving on to the plate. “From the very plain to the very complicated. Tell me about that,” he said as the guest revealed he “fell in love with it” when he saw it.
The guest purchased the plate for £400 and learned it could be worth up to £1,500. And finally, Lars turned his attention to the vase. ‘This one is not alike, I just naturally found it from a charity shop,” the guest told the expert. According to Lars, the item was actually two vases.