Bowl Bought for $3 at Yard Sale Sells for $2.2 Million at Sotheby’s

A ceramic bowl originally purchased for $3 at a yard sale recently sold in an intense bidding war at Sotheby's for $2.2 million, well above the starting price of $300,000.

The anonymous owner of the 1,000-year-old bowl said it had been sitting in their living room for years.

The simple white piece, known as a "Ding" bowl for its county of origin, came from China's Northern Song Dynasty.

Little else is known about it other than its 5-inch width, and that it was probably created to mimic gold wares found in palaces.

The purchaser, London dealer Giuseppe Eskenazi, was likely thrilled with the buy, since there's only one other bowl like it in known existence, and it's locked away in the British Museum.