How much would you have paid for this at a yard sale?
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/13717419624_fafd0d14ef_c.jpg)
http://news.yahoo.com/ming-dynasty-chicken-cup-sold-record-36m-130425001.html (http://news.yahoo.com/ming-dynasty-chicken-cup-sold-record-36m-130425001.html)
I wouldn't have even bought that uggo cup at a garage sale.
I loose. :'(
I think it's pretty. If it had some age to it, like maybe it had been used in a Chinese restaurant for a number of years long ago, but was still usable, I would have given a couple bucks for it.
But the darned thing looks brand new. It might have come from a 99ยข Store!
I would've paid a buck or two .. maybe used it as a cat bowl.
Well, given it was hand made and not mass produced like my Chinese restaurant teacups, it might be worth a few bucks.
Then you add the age into the equation: That cup was made during the reign of the Ming dynasty emperor Chenghua, who ruled from 1465 to 1487. He died 5 years before Columbus set sail for "the Indies" and 289 years before the Declaration of Independence. And really old stuff sells better than last years' junk.
And then there is the condition. No cracks or chips in it. Pretty rare for a delicate porcelain item a little over 500 years old. That adds some value.
Then factor in the rarity. Only 17 cups like this are known to exist and only 4 are not in museums, and the price rises significantly.
But the biggest factor in this cup's auction price? The buyer is a Chinese multimillionaire out to spend some of his bucks on something someone else doesn't have. Conspicuous consumption --ya got the wealth? Flaunt it! ;D
How many of us refrain from telling friends and family we just spent two or three hundred dollars on a plastic toy we could easily conceal in our hand - lest they send us away to Happydale?
I would realize it was chinese made and old, and buy it at yard sale for couple bucks, then have it appraised.
Quote from: Monsters For Sale on April 09, 2014, 12:31:29 PM
How many of us refrain from telling friends and family we just spent two or three hundred dollars on a plastic toy we could easily conceal in our hand - lest they send us away to Happydale?
But then how many of us are millionaires? ::)
Those toys are probably a bigger percentage of our income.
When you're rich, its easier to do expensive crazy stuff and not be a candidate for the HaHa Hotel. ;)