Bowl purchased at garage sale for $35 sells for more than $700,000 at auction

A bowl purchased for $35 at a garage sale just sold for even more than its $500,000 estimated worth at an auction.

The small bowl was bought at a garage sale last year in Connecticut by a shopper who believed he stumbled upon something very rare, according to Sotheby’s. His instincts were correct.

The bowl is an “exceptional and rare” artifact from the 15th century Chinese Yongle period during the Ming Dynasty and one of six known companion pieces, according to Sotheby’s. The auction house estimated it could sell for $300,000 to $500,000.

The bowl sold during an auction Wednesday for $721,800, according to Sotheby’s.

Sotheby’s didn’t release information about the buyer and the man who found the bowl.

“(Wednesday’s) result for this exceptionally rare floral bowl, dating to the 15th century, epitomizes the incredible, once in a lifetime discovery stories that we dream about as specialists in the Chinese Art field,” Angela McAteer, the head of Sotheby’s Chinese Works of Art Department, told The Associated Press in in a statement.