Carlo Scarpa Vase Bought for €3.65 at Virginia Thrift Store Grosses over €91,568 at Auction

Right at the Wright Auction house in New York beheld the grand purchase of an ‘ordinary’ looking vase that was randomly picked up for €3.65 at a thrift shop in Virginia at €91,568.

Jessica Vincent, the original owner narrates that the vase caught her eye immediately after she stepped into the Virginian store. Utterly surprised at how a great antique of a vase could still be sitting in the shop without a buyer, she quickly reached for it and paid. She adds in an interview with CNN that she collects these antiques just for fun with her partner “probably two or three times a week.”

“As soon as I picked it up, I knew it was a nice piece,” Vincent continued. “I had no idea it was so nice, but I just knew it was good quality. I couldn’t believe nobody had picked it up before me,” she added.

Jessica further took a keen look at the vase and discovered that it was made in Italy but there was another word she couldn’t comprehend; Venini.  She uploaded a photo of the vase to a glassware Facebook page and enquired about the meaning of “Venini” from the members of the group and voila, it was identified as the famed Italian glassworks company.

“Some people were throwing out different makers and designers until one person was like, ‘Oh, that’s Carlo Scarpa… very top shelf, every collector’s dream,” Jessica said.

The vase turns out to be one of the works of Italian architect Carlo Scarpa for the Venini glass company during his time as the Creative Director in 1942.

Journey to the Wright Auction House

The vase was listed for auction on Wednesday, December 13, after the Wright House verified the authenticity of the Carlo Scarpa piece in Jessica Vincent’s home.

“When I first heard Jessica’s story and saw the image of the vase, I knew this was the real deal,” Wright’s founder, Richard Wright, told CNN in an email after the sale of the vase at the auction. The vase was also estimated to sell between €27,453.60 and €45,756.

Jessica and her partner couldn’t contain their joy when they experienced the auction online.

“I can’t even put into words the excitement. …I love that I can say that I owned a ‘Pennellate,’” she added. “But I really felt like the right thing, for me, was to send it off into the art world where it can be fully appreciated,” she said.