A Goodwill store in Richmond, Virginia sold a vase in June for $3.99, that was just auctioned off for $107,000. Life-long thrifter Jessica Vincent hits the local second-hand stores with her partner Naza Acosta a few times a week. But during an afternoon outing, she hit the jackpot with a beautiful brightly colored vase.
While browsing, she noticed a bootle-shaped vase with ribbons of aqua green and amethyst purple, that spiraled up its surface like stripes of paint. The only markings Vincent could make out were on the piece’s base and read “Murano” and “Italia.”
“I bought it thinking it would look beautiful in my house somewhere,” said Vincent, a horse trainer. “I definitely didn’t buy it thinking, ‘Oh, I’m going to sell this.’ ”
Once she got home, she posted some images of the vase in Facebook groups for glass art, members quickly led her to a private group just for Murano pieces. “Murano” refers to an island in Venice, known for its glasswork since the 13th century. This led to the discovery that the vase was produced by the glass company Venini and designed by the late Italian architect Carlo Scarpa.
One of the group’s commenters said; “Those are very rare. Every collector would love to have that. But most people cannot afford them.” Soon after that, she was referred to Richard Wright, president of the Wright Auction House in Chicago.
“The minute I saw her email,” Wright said, “I knew what it was and how rare it was.” The vase is part of a collection by Scarpa from 1942 called Pennellate, which means brushstroke. It was created by adding colored opaque glass to the vase as it was blown.
“It was basically a duet between Carlo Scarpa and a master blower who had to physically translate (Scarpa’s) drawings,” according to Wright. “You have to keep rotating this vase the entire time or it’ll slump off the pipe. While at the same time you’re applying these delicate brushes of color that have this absolute lightness to them.”
As you can imagine, such a delicate process makes these very difficult to create, so very few were ever made. The auction house only knows of one other vase like this, and it sits in a private collection. Wright sent out two Italian glass specialists to visit Vincent and authenticate the piece. She had been storing it in her recently purchased farmhouse, encased in bubble wrap and swaddled in a tablecloth, inside a cardboard box.
“Just the look on their faces,” Vincent recalled. “It was incredible to have experts who handle very important pieces of glass who were very excited for my little thrift-store vase.” What is even more amazing is that the vase was in perfect condition. According to Write even a small chip in the glass would have reduced its value to less than $10,000.
On December 13th, Vincent sold the Goodwill find through the Wright Auction House for $107,100. The European buyer is a top collector but wishes to remain anonymous. Wright Auction House will get about $23,600, and she will receive about $83,500. She plans to put the money toward a new HVAC unit since her home is currently being warmed with space heaters. “I’m not independently wealthy, so it’s going to be really good to have a little breathing room,” explained Vincent.
As gorgeous as the glass piece was, she is happy it is in the hands of someone who can properly display it. “My little 1930s farmhouse is not the right showcase for something so spectacular,” Vincent said. ”It would also make me super nervous to have it in my house. It’s a lot of responsibility when you find out how much something is worth.”
