Featured Why did this Asian Vase sell so much higher than estimate?

What did they miss? The seller must be doing the happy dance.
Estimate $200 to $300
Sold $21,000!

https://skinnerlive.auctionserver.n...lot/210453/?url=/view-auctions/catalog/id/483

 

Holy crow! That's amazing!

 

That was my exact reaction.

 

Here is another Asian piece from the same auction, estimate $50 to $100. Sold for $5000. It's great for the seller but it certainly doesn't give you confidence in the knowledge of those that work at the auction house.

https://skinnerlive.auctionserver.n...470/?url=/view-auctions/catalog/id/483?page=2

 

Skinner should know there stuff - should!
Patd

 

They might not have missed anything, and two people with way too much money got into a royal knock down drag out over it. It could also be that what they thought was a late copy was believed by at least two others to be the real deal.

And dang do I wish I owned that vase.(LOL)

 

bin there done that.......sigh...

 

The yellowed sticker inside says "1546 Chien Lung" so somebody thought it was earlier than Skinners blurb.

 

That happens at auctions, no doubt but, there is another more likely possibility, that 2 or more bidders knew something the auction house didn't know.
I know nothing about pottery but this scenario is fairly common with old furniture, the auction house thinks it's just a run of the mill piece but it isn't, it turns out to be a piece quite rare and valuable.

 

Wow. And it's only 4.25" high. That's $6077.65 per inch... roughly!

 

If it is a genuine blue and white Yong Zhen piece, $20k+ is not uncommon... Problem is knowing for sure. The expected $200-$300 makes me think it's because the auction house could not provide a certificate of authenticity. Sometimes (most of the time?) It's a gamble and price gets dragged up. I know from experience that even Christie's and Sotheby's appraise and fail miserably sometimes...

 

Absolutely, I agree 100%. Auction houses main function is selling & marketing, they are "generalists", they know a little about a lot and do not spend the time doing research so, stuff falls through the cracks when handling thousands of objects.
When they have an object that is "known" to be of great value, they call in a specialist in that particular field to do a write up/research paper on it but not for what they think is an everyday type object.

 

... and that's also why, these days, a lot of items being sold come with a COA that's worth less then the last newspaper at the newstand across the street. People are making their own COAs and "certifying" their own stuff.
Then, there's the sneaky wording... Ex., There was a time when a lithograph by artist so-and-so meant a hand pulled print ... No longer ... ***SIGH!*** and the scamming is spreading across the internet like the plague...

 

They made errors in the other direction as well, lots going unsold that were expected to fetch at least $300. I didn't look at everything, but saw few that hammered within the estimated range.

James C. explained it just right. Auction houses don't have time or expertise to give every item a thorough evaluation & largely take the consignor's word for it. Then add a lot of fine print that amounts to caveat emptor.

 

Exactly! Which is a major reason old furniture sales have been depressed for decades now.
Most people are not interested enough to take the time to educate themselves on auction sales and they don't trust dealers so..........
IKEA wins again! it's just easier.

 

Hi,
I was in a department store in the 1970s to buy a dresser. Looking at the display I saw one that might work. The salesman asked what I wanted it for. I explained I was furnishing a new apartment. He said come with me to the antiques department. There he showed me an antique dresser and said. The new one is 300 dollars more than this one. In five years it will be worth 50 dollars. This one 1840's will be worth 7000 dollars. Which is the better bargain?
He was right the new one would be worthless in a few years. In 10 years I sold the old one for 7 thousand dollars more than I paid for it. I NEVER bought a new piece of furniture again. I would never go into an Ikea.
greg

 

Yeah well, the problem with that analysis is, it isn't 1970 anymore, it's 2019. The only constant in business is, change. Those that adapt to change prosper, those that don't, don't.
I think it's fair to say in general, the antiques industry has not adapted to change well.

 

On the other hand, I'm still using the bedroom set my dad bought back around 1954. The Ikea set from ten years ago is probably already landfill. I advise kids at church to go find the old stuff if they want something that won't fall apart. It's also less prone to tipping over if a baby grabs hold of it.

 

Hi,
My bedroom set is the one that my other half's grandparent's bought in 1927. I refinished it
in 1985. The only change I made to it was making it fit a queen size instead of a double. No one wanted it until I redid it,now five people want it.
greg

 

The Full bed has gone the way of the dodo.