Carlo Scarpa Vase Bought at Goodwill for $4 Commands $107,000 at Auction

A vase purchased from a Goodwill outside Richmond, Virginia, for just $3.99 has been discovered to be an original piece by noted Italian architect Carlo Scarpa (1906–1978), and has been sold to a private collector for $107,100. The startling ROI (return on investment) of nearly $27,000 was not predicted by its thrift store buyer, who was originally attracted by the slender glass vessel’s ribbonlike bands of ruby and seafoam green. “I had a sense that it might be a $1,000 or $2,000 piece,” Jessica Vincent told theNew York Times. Vincent, who had noted a tinyMon the vase’s bottom, suspected that the piece might have been of Murano glass, so named for the island, just off Venice, that is home to the historic consortium of glassmakers specializing in handblown, typically vibrantly hued glass objects.RelatedGIOVANNI ANSELMO (1934–2023)NAMHEE PARK APPOINTED DIRECTOR OF NAM JUNE PAIK ART CENTER On returning home with the vessel in tow, Vincent began posting images of it to Facebook groups dedicated to glass identification.

Several forum members suggested Scarpa as the maker and connected her with the Wright Auction House. Vincent sent photos of the vase to the auction concern and was almost immediately contacted by its president, Richard Wright, who had the vase evaluated. The vessel is thought to be from Scarpa’s “Pennellate” series of the 1940s, and is of a type that has rarely been seen. The series name refers to thepennellateprocess used in the vase’s making, which eschews externally applied pigment in favor of opaque colored glass that is heat fused with clear glass and then swirled and pulled around until the desired effect, typically translucent, is achieved.

Auction house specialists initially estimated the vase’s value at between $30,000 and $50,000, but on December 13, the vessel hammered at $107,100, shattering expectations. Vincent was only too happy to part with it, not simply for financial gain but because, she said, “When I did learn how rare they are and the value that it could be, it made me sort of nervous to have it because anything could happen to it. When you have a piece so expensive,” she concluded, “it makes you think, ‘What if?’”.