Vase bought at Goodwill for $3.99 sells for $107,100 at auction

A Virginia woman is enjoying a dream that every thrift shop customer wishes for -- a vase she bought for $3.99 was a rare piece sold at an art auction last week for $107,100.

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Jessica Vincent’s find at a Goodwill store in Ashland turned out to be a rare vase made by Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa. Created during the 1940s, the vase was part of the “Pennellate” series he designed for Venini, a glass workshop that produced Murano glass, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported

The Richmond resident netted $82,875 from the sale, conducted by Wright Auction House, according to The Washington Post. Vincent who raises and trains polo horses with her partner, said she will put the proceeds toward repairing an old farmhouse she recently bought, according to the newspaper.

“Knowing that Jessica went into this Goodwill in Virginia and saw this glass vase sitting in a thrift store undamaged is unbelievable,” Richard Wright, president of Wright Auction House, told the Post. “This was a gift from the thrifting gods.”

Vincent, 43, of Richmond, was shopping at the Goodwill store in June when she spotted the green-and-burgundy striped vase, the Times-Dispatch reported.

“It was so unusual. It had such quality. I knew it was a good piece of glass with the mark on the bottom,” Vincent told the newspaper, adding that she would have paid up to $8.99 for the item. “I knew it was coming home with me.”

After bringing the item home, Vincent was curious about the small “M” mark at the bottom of the vase.

She suspected it was made in Murano, an Italian island near Venice known for its high-end glass, the Post reported. She was convinced after sharing a photo of the vase to a Facebook group interested in Murano glass, according to the Times-Dispatch.

“People in the group said these are extremely rare, top-shelf pieces. People only dream of owning these,” Vincent told the newspaper. “They said, ‘I would die if I saw that out in the wild.’ It gave me chills to see all those comments.”

After receiving a few offers in the $10,000 range, Vincent decided to do some research and contacted Wright Auction House on July 7.

“It’s an amazing story, that this very sophisticated piece of glass finds its way to Virginia,” Wright told Artnet. “It was expensive, not mass-produced, and it falls through the cracks all the way down to the Goodwill. It’s not even chipped.

“And this very charming woman who raises polo ponies finds it, and she isn’t sure what she’s found, but she’s smart enough to do her research.”

Goodwill spokesperson Laura Faison told the Post that the vase was given to the store from an unknown donor.

“At the time, we did not realize this was of great value, as thousands of things come in every day,” Faison told the newspaper. “We are just as surprised, shocked and happy as everyone else.”

Wright confirmed the vase’s authenticity after he sent two dedicated glass specialists from New York to Virginia to inspect it.

Bidding for the vase opened at $24,000, the Times-Dispatch reported. More bids sent the price skyrocketing.

“When they said $85,000, we were all holding hands, screaming, with our hands over our eyes,” Vincent told the newspaper. “I’m not independently wealthy. I don’t have a lot of money. The money is going to help me so much.”

What originally seemed to be a dull day at a thrift store turned into a life-changing experience for Vincent.

“It was pretty thrilling to think I sort of had a masterpiece on my hands. For me, it felt like a disappointing day thrift shopping, so this turned that day around quickly,” Vincent told the Post. “This is really going to help me so much. It just felt like the universe was conspiring to help me get down the road a little bit further.”