Chipped Bowl Sells for $2.6 Million

A rare Chinese bowl that was bought for $100 after World War II has sold for over $2.6 million.

The 15th century Ming dynasty piece reached the astonishing sum at a UK auction, despite being chipped and damaged on the rim.

The 10-inch diameter dice bowl was expected to fetch around $31,0000, but caused a frenzy among Chinese bidders, and reached 84 times the expected sum.

For the past 60 years, the bowl has been in the possession of collectors Otto and Gertrude Harriman.

The Harriman family lent the collection to the Nottingham Castle Museum after Gertrude's death, but recently decided to part with it altogether.

Experts say that the dice bowl, which was decorated with five-claw dragons among cloud scrolls, would have sold for even more had it been in perfect condition.

As my father would say, "You could have bought a new one for that..."


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"No Timmy, that's not a cereal bowl!"