Chinese bowl, $3 at tag sale, sells for $2.2 M

This undated photo provided by Sotheby’s Auction House in New York shows a 1,000-year-old Chinese “Ding” bowl from the Northern Song Dynasty. The bowl, purchased from a tag sale for no more than three dollars, was sold by Sotheby’s for more than $2.22 million during the opening session of Sotheby's fine Chinese ceramics and works of art auction Tuesday, March 19, 2013 in New York. (AP Photo/Sotheby’s Auction House)

 

NEW YORK (AP) — A rare Chinese bowl bought at a tag sale for $3 has sold at a New York City auction for more than $2.22 million.

The 1,000-year-old bowl was part of the opening session of Sotheby's fine Chinese ceramics and works of art auction on Tuesday.

Sotheby's says it was sold to a London dealer for $2.225 million, far above the presale estimate of $200,000 to $300,000.

The person who put the bowl up for auction bought it at a tag sale in 2007 and had it displayed in the living room for several years before becoming curious about its origins and having it examined.

The bowl is 5 inches (12.5 centimeters), white in color and from the Northern Song Dynasty.

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