Jessica Vincent had just begun to inspect the shelves of a thrift store in Virginia when a vase caught her eye. It was shaped like a bottle and had ribbons of color, aqua green and amethyst purple, running up the glass surface like streaks of paint.
The piece looked old among the clutter of measuring cups, candles and other tchotchkes. After adjusting her eyes, Vincent saw the words 'Murano' and 'Italia' on the base.
“I bought it because I thought it would look nice somewhere in my house,” said Vincent, 43, a horse trainer who paid $3.99 at a Goodwill outside Richmond. “I certainly didn't buy it thinking, 'Oh, I'm going to sell this.' ”
Her thinking changed after some research. And on December 13, the vase sold through the Wright Auction House for $107,100. The buyer, a top collector from Europe, wanted to remain private.
Vincent's purchase came after years of perusing yard sales and thrift stores with her mother. She loves PBS's “Antiques Roadshow” and has often dreamed about these types of lottery-level transactions.
“I always felt like I had a good eye,” says Vincent, who visits thrift stores with her partner a few times a week. “But I'm really surprised no one picked it up before me.”
The vase was likely only on the shelves for a few days, given the quality and quick sales rate of the products, said Laura Faison, spokeswoman for Goodwill of Central and Coastal Virginia. Each store averages about 2,000 new items per day, and these often come from the trunk of a car.
“It could be someone cleaning out grandma's basement,” Faison said of the vase's backstory. “We'll probably never know.”
Vincent arrived at the Goodwill one afternoon in June with her partner, Naza Acosta, after a day of training horses. The vase felt heavy in her hands. And although Vincent had seen painted glass before, the swirling colors of the vase were different. They came out of the glass itself, she said, “and it was done so delicately.”
At home, Vincent posted photos in Facebook groups for glass art and soon joined a private group for Murano glass.
The “Murano” at the bottom of the vase referred to the island in Venice that has been famous for its glassware since the 13th century. Highly prized creations include ornate crystal chandeliers and mirror frames, many of which adorn the palaces of Europe's aristocracy.
The vase was produced by the renowned glass company Venini and designed by the Italian architect Carlo Scarpa, who died in 1978. One comment on Facebook gave her chills: “They are very rare. Every collector would like to have that. But most people can't afford them.”
Vincent was referred to Richard Wright, president of the Wright Auction House in Chicago.
“From the moment I saw her email,” Wright said, “I knew what it was and how rare it was.”
Scarpa was the best Italian glass designer in the mid-20th century, while the vase was part of a series he created in 1942. The collection was called Pennellate, which means brushstroke, and was made by adding colored, opaque glass to the vase. was blown up.
“It was actually a duet between Carlo Scarpa and a master horn player who had to physically translate Scarpa's drawings,” Wright said. “You have to keep turning this vase all the time, otherwise it will fall off the pipe. At the same time you apply these delicate color brushes that have this absolute lightness.
Very few were made because they were so difficult to make. The auction house knows of only one other in this shape and color combination. It is in a private collection.
Wright sent two Italian glass specialists to Virginia to confirm the vase's authenticity. Vincent took it out of a cardboard box, wrapped in bubble wrap and wrapped in a tablecloth.
“Just the look on their faces,” Vincent remembered. “It was incredible to have experts who handle very important pieces of glass and were very excited about my little thrift store vase.”
Perhaps just as miraculous was its perfect condition, Wright said. A small chip in the glass would have reduced its value to less than $10,000.
Wright Auction House said it will receive about $23,600 from the purchase of Vincent's vase, while she will receive about $83,500.
Vincent said a good chunk of the money will go toward installing an HVAC system in an old farmhouse she recently purchased. Currently it is heated by space heaters.
“I'm not rich myself, so it will be very nice to have some breathing space,” added Vincent, who trains polo horses, sport horses and trail horses with her partner.
As for the vase, Vincent hopes it will one day end up in a museum.
“My little 1930s farmhouse isn't the right showcase for something so spectacular,” Vincent said. “It would also make me very nervous if I had it at home. It comes with a lot of responsibility when you find out how much something is worth.”