Chinese Vase Found in Shoebox Sells for $19 Million

An 18th century Chinese vase found in a shoebox in an attic in France sold for 16.2 million euros ($19 million) at auction in Paris on Tuesday.
The price was more than 20 times the estimate of 500,000 euros to 700,000 euros auctioneer Sotheby’s had put on the item. It was the highest price reached for a single item sold by Sotheby’s in France, Reuters reported.
The vase spent some of its life stashed in an attic with other items that formed part of an inheritance. A French family retrieved the vase and brought it to the auctioneer. “When she (the seller) put the box on my desk and we opened it we were all stunned by the beauty of the piece,” Sotheby’s Asian arts expert Olivier Valmier told Reuters.