It may resemble a small green cereal bowl from IKEA, but that didn’t stop one piece of porcelain fetching an eye-watering £28 million when it was sold at auction last week.
Despite its humble appearance, the bowl is in fact an extraordinarily rare dish from China dating from the 11th Century, once used for washing paint brushes in.
The eye-watering sum is proof that beauty is in the eye of the collector… and that it’s not always easy to tell rare treasures apart from the high-street impostors.
Here, with the help of Antiques Roadshow expert Marc Allum, we have found a handful of pieces that are hard to distinguis without a trained eye. How many true gems can you pick out?
Despite its humble appearance, the bowl is in fact an extraordinarily rare dish from China dating from the 11th Century, once used for washing paint brushes in
1. £19 million or £19?
One is a fabulously rare, intricately crafted Easter egg glittering with hundreds of diamonds that was made by Fabergé and given by Tsar Nicholas II to his wife.
The other is a diamanté-encrusted trinket from M&S, which ‘to the average man on the street’, admits Allum, ‘has a fairly marked resemblance to a real Fabergé egg’.
One is a fabulously rare, intricately crafted Easter egg glittering with hundreds of diamonds that was made by Fabergé and given by Tsar Nicholas II to his wife
2. £25.8 million or £99?
Both are about 6ft by 8ft and richly patterned in red. However, one is a 360-year-old Persian rug with an impeccable provenance that broke all records at auction, fetching £25.8 million.
The other costs a mere £99 from Ikea. ‘I rather like the Ikea one,’ says Allum. ‘And I think it might be safer to vacuum.’
Both are about 6ft by 8ft and richly patterned in red. However, one is a 360-year-old Persian rug with an impeccable provenance that broke all records at auction, fetching £25.8 million
3. £23 million or £60?
One of these achieved the highest price ever for any Chinese sculpture at auction: £23 million. The other is from John Lewis’s ‘decorative accessories’ department (next door to cushions, on the second floor). It’s not bronze. ‘Real Buddhas are items of great beauty, majesty and mysticism,’ says Allum.
One of these achieved the highest price ever for any Chinese sculpture at auction: £23 million
4. £15.4m or £30?
As Del Boy of Only Fools And Horses once put it: ‘I’m a Ming fan myself. He made some wonderful stuff, that Ming.’ Well, one of these is a Ming jar worth £15 million, and one’s from Amazon worth a tiny fraction of that. Del Boy probably couldn’t tell the difference, but Marc Allum can: ‘The Amazon jar wouldn’t fool me for a minute.’
As Del Boy of Only Fools And Horses once put it: ‘I’m a Ming fan myself
5. £3,400 or £64?
Of all the sets of items, this is the one where Allum says the cheap version – from Cult Furniture online store – is closest to the original. ‘I love these sunburst clocks. The best pre-war ones fetch really good prices – one recently went for £3,400 – and are snapped up interior decorators. But the £64 one is really good. If you are searching just for the look of something, does the age really matter? I am not sure it does.’
Of all the sets of items, this is the one where Allum says the cheap version – from Cult Furniture online store – is closest to the original
‘I love these sunburst clocks. The best pre-war ones fetch really good prices – one recently went for £3,400 – and are snapped up interior decorators’
6. £173,000 or £2.25?
Ikea or icon? One is made by Lucie Rie, the Austro-British potter who, says Allum, was ‘the doyenne of the studio ceramics world’. The other is by Britain’s favourite purveyor of meatballs. ‘Rie was a very innovative ceramicist and a strong woman. People enjoy investing in that reputation – her powerful pared-back angle is important.’ So, which is museum-quality and which is machine-washable?
Ikea or icon? One is made by Lucie Rie, the Austro-British potter who, says Allum, was ‘the doyenne of the studio ceramics world’
So, which is museum-quality and which is machine-washable?
7. £2,000 or £35?
‘Well, both are red. And they are both teapots. But I think the similarity probably ends there,’ says Allum, who is not a fan of the cheap version. One is a Habitat glazed ceramic pot ‘inspired by the Orient’ (but made in Portugal). The other is Qing dynasty, worth £2,000 and described as redware, which means it is red all the way through.
‘Well, both are red. And they are both teapots. But I think the similarity probably ends there,’ says Allum
One is a Habitat glazed ceramic pot ‘inspired by the Orient’ (but made in Portugal). The other is Qing dynasty, worth £2,000
8. £280,000 or £85?
‘Tiffany is the master of the US glass world. His lamps are amazing quality and very beautiful. A lot of the copies are very good. But a lot are rubbish,’ says Allum. So, which category does this £85 Wayfair one fall into? ‘Well, it’s certainly very cheap,’ he says. ‘And from a distance you could put it next to a real one and it almost holds up.’
‘Tiffany is the master of the US glass world. His lamps are amazing quality and very beautiful’
9. £6,875 or £80?
ChippEndale or cheap as chips? One comes from bargain-basement Wilko and has a cast-aluminum frame, and one was sold at Christie’s auction house for 86 times the price and has a giltwood frame, fashioned by Georgian craftsmen. Allum says: ‘The Wilko’s one is not bad at all. I can see how you could be fooled by it.’
ChippEndale or cheap as chips? One comes from bargain-basement Wilko and has a cast-aluminum frame, and one was sold at Christie’s auction house for 86 times the price