A Rare Meiji Period Vase Becomes A Thrift Store Artifact
Canterbury Auction GalleriesThis tiny Japanese Meiji period vase was purchased at a charity shop for about $3.
A couple was browsing through a thrift store in Surrey, England, when they spotted a tiny vase on a shelf. One of the shoppers, Karen, wasn’t interested in it at first, but her partner, Ahmet, urged her to take a closer look.
“He came over and showed me the vase and I said something a bit dismissive like, ‘very pretty.’ ‘No, look at the base!’ he said, and showed me the etched marks,” said Karen in a press release from Canterbury Auction Galleries, according to the BBC.
Canterbury Auction GalleriesThe stamp in Japanese at the bottom of the vase caught the attention of buyers Karen and Ahmet.
Karen and Ahmet weren’t sure what the etchings were, but they purchased the four-inch-tall vase for $3 and reached out to Canterbury Auction Galleries for a valuation. There, experts determined the vase to be an authentic Japanese ceramic made by Namikawa Yasuyuki, one of the most famous artists of the Meiji period.
Yasuyuki lived between 1845 and 1927, the “golden age” of enameling in Japan. Cliona Kilroy, the co-director of the gallery, said of the vase, “The beautiful work by Yasuyuki’s Kyoto studio is held in several collections and is highly sought-after. The exceptionally fine work and naturalistic depiction of cockerels and hens on a black background, with birds in flight overhead, was something of a trademark of his.”
The vase is expected to bring in more than $13,000 at auction.
