A Shattered Flower Pot With a Secret Nets $60,000 at Auction

When it comes to art, antiques, and other collectibles, condition is everything: Few will pay handsomely for a piece that arrives in pieces. But one recent auction demonstrated an exception to the rule. A broken flower pot managed to fetch over $60,000.

According to The Times, UK-based Chiswick Auctions fielded the sale of a 4-foot-tall ceramic pot that was found split into two pieces and missing a large chunk of its upper portion. Acclaimed 20th-century potter Hans Coper made it on commission from an admirer in 1964. After the owner accepted the delivery of the piece, it broke. She then repurposed it as a planter in her backyard garden, where it was discovered after her passing.

A broken pot is pictured — The pot was originally a single piece but was separated from its base. | Courtesy of Chiswick Auctions

Though the item was covered in weeds, the woman’s grandchildren noticed it was adorned with deliberate design choices. Because they knew their grandmother was an art collector, they suspected it might be more than a flower pot.

They reached out to Chiswick, who recognized it as the work of Coper. After estimating its value at up to $13,000, it wound up selling for $63,250.

“The fact that you can sell a really damaged ceramic for that sort of price goes to prove how collectible and highly regarded Hans Coper is,” Chiswick head of design Maxine Winning told The Times.

The German-born Coper (1920-1981) fled to England during wartime to escape the increasing tensions. (His Jewish father had taken his own life.) England deported him to Canada, but he was able to return and began apprenticeships in pottery and clay-throwing. He mastered the craft of scoring pottery using white clay, so it looked ancient, sanding and applying materials that gave it a veneer of old age. He also favored repeated design choices in his work, dubbing the shapes eggs, flowers, and arrows. By 1958, he had his own studio. His reputation grew throughout the 20th century; some of his complete works have sold for up to $900,000.

The flower pot may require as much as $10,000 in restoration. Given Coper’s popularity, it’s likely to be money well spent.

Read More About Art: