$3 Chinese bowl sells for $2.2m at auction

A 1,000-year-old Chinese bowl that was bought for a few dollars at a garage sale in New York state has sold for more than $2.2m (€1.7m) at auction.

An unnamed New York family bought the Ding bowl, which is from the Northern Song Dynasty, for no more than $3 in 2007 and displayed it on a mantelpiece with no idea as to its real worth, Sotheby’s said. After consulting with experts, the owners consigned the bowl for auction. Sotheby’s estimated it would sell for $200,000 to $300,000.

London dealer Giuseppe Eskenazi paid $2,225,000 including commission for the bowl, which measures just over five inches in diameter, at the auction in New York City.