Think you’ve made a few costly DIY blunders in the past?
Well, spare a thought for the woman who drilled a hole in an old vase to make a lamp – only to find out it would have been worth £250,000.
The owner of the 250-year-old Chinese porcelain has now been told it will fetch only £20,000 at auction.
‘It is a tale of what might have been,’ said auctioneer Guy Schwinge. The Qing dynasty vase was thought to have been bought by its unnamed owner’s great-grandfather in the Far East in the early 1900s.
It had a sticker on the bottom saying ’14 dollars’ and was presumed to be worthless. It was passed down through the family until, 40 years ago, an ancestor drilled a small hole through it so it could be used as an electric lamp.
It was only when the porcelain was remarked upon by a family friend that its true value was discovered.
Experts told its woman owner, from south-west London, it would have been worth £250,000 without the hole and if it had been accompanied by its matching pair.
Comment From Admin – Don’t believe everything you read!