An auction is set to feature a petite vase purchased at a UK thrift shop for a mere £2.50 ($3.30), with expectations it could rake in as much as £9,000 ($11,800). The diminutive 10-centimetre (four-inch) work of art was discovered in a thrift store in Surrey, on the outskirts of London, by a couple, as shared by Canterbury Auction Galleries in a news release.
During their visit to the thrift shop, Karen and her partner Ahmet, who only disclosed their first names, took their usual paths – Karen to the books and Ahmet to explore art and vintage items. “Ahmet isn’t an expert but possesses an instinctive sense of quality and the ‘authentic’,” Karen narrated in the release.
After coming across the vase, Ahmet pointed out the etched marks at the base, which Karen initially dismissed. Little did they know the significance of these etchings, the auction house noted.
Upon purchasing the vase for a paltry £2.50 ($3.30), they approached the auction house for a professional appraisal. Experts confirmed the vase as a creation of the renowned late Japanese ceramist and cloisonné artist Namikawa Yasuyuki, who lived between 1845 and 1927. Yasuyuki was a celebrated artist during the Meiji period in Japan.
Cliona Kilroy, co-director of Canterbury Auction Galleries and an art specialist, highlighted in the release that Yasuyuki’s exquisite work from his Kyoto studio is part of several collections and is highly coveted. “He, along with Namikawa Sōsuke, is celebrated as the foremost cloisonné artists of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, often referred to as Japan’s ‘Golden Age’ of enamelling,” Kilroy noted.
Cloisonné is a complex enamel technique which involves bending thin metal strips or wire to form a design on a metal surface, then filling the enclosed areas with coloured enamel paste. This decorative piece is then fired, polished, and ground to smoothness.
Japanese cloisonné stands out for its glass-like, highly polished surface, the auction house highlighted. As for Yasuyuki’s vase, “the excellent craftsmanship and realistic depiction of roosters and hens against a black background, with overhead flying birds, was somewhat his signature style,” Kilroy further explained.
The vase is scheduled for a two-day auction from July 29 to 30. The couple intends to make a “substantial donation” to the thrift store where they discovered the item, as indicated by the auction house.
The release added that a larger vase by Yasuyuki was sold at Canterbury Auction Galleries for £29,000 ($38,000) back in April 2019.
This unexpected discovery underscores the potential value hidden within thrift shops and the importance of recognizing the artistic quality of seemingly ordinary objects. The tiny vase, once overlooked and purchased for a fraction of its value, now carries the potential to yield a handsome profit while reminding us of the enduring artistry of Namikawa Yasuyuki. Whether this small treasure will surpass expectations remains to be seen, but its journey from a thrift store finds to auction highlight is a testament to the hidden gems waiting to be unearthed.
