You should never forget: the things you find at a used shop can earn you quite a bit of cash! After a woman picked up a wooden chair at a junk shop for just under $7, she discovered it was quite rare indeed. Most recently, at auction, it sold for over $21,000. That’s right!
$16,000 Australian Chair
When an intelligent shopper in a junk shop in Brighton, East Sussex, saw a fantastic-looking wooden, wicker chair, she immediately knew she needed to buy it. However, the woman had no idea it would net her more than $20,000 – especially after picking it up for less than $7. Of course, the buyer could never have known that the wooden chair comes from a famed Viennese art school and is over 120 years old.
After buying the chair, the woman knew there was something peculiar about the chair. So, she decided to get in contact with a valuer, who, as you might imagine, felt quite stunned. After all, it’s not every day that a wicked chair from an iconic 20th-century avant-garde art school in Vienna ends up in front of you, even if you do evaluate antiques for a living.
The valuer let the woman know that renowned Austrian painter Koloman Moser designed the piece, making it highly sought-after. Afterward, while the woman loved the piece, she decided to bring the chair to Sworders auctioneers of Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex.
Presented On Auction
John Black, one of the specialists at Sworders, the one who first valued the piece, explained how honored he felt to participate in the sale. “We are delighted with the sale price and are particularly pleased to know it will be going back to Austria,” he explained. “The vendor had done some research but was unsure if the attribution was correct, so I decided the best course of action would be to speak to Dr Christian Witt-Dörring, a specialist on the Vienna Secession movement. He confirmed the attribution and praised this example for the dignity of its original condition.”
For those who don’t know, the designer, Koloman Moser, designed everything from postage stamps and fashion to stained glass windows, jewelry, and furniture. That’s right! However, Moser’s most famous design is The Steinhof Church in Vienna, Austria. Meanwhile, an armchair designed by Moser just a year after he designed the wicker chair sits in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. So, you can see why people would pay big money for the wooden wicker chair.
In the end, an Austrian dealer purchased the chair at auction for the incredible price of $22,111.54. “The seller was also thrilled and I think needed to sit down upon being told how much it sold for,” Black said after the sale. So, next time you’re thinking of picking up that cheap chair at GoodWill, know that it might just net you thousands!
Sources: Good News Network, Sworders, Twitter