£12,000 chip off the old pot: Collector's vase was worth £14,000... until it was damaged being wrapped for valuation

The vase only cost him £3 at a car boot sale. 


So Alan Bridges probably didn’t fret too much when he accidentally chipped the ornament while wrapping it up to be valued.

The reality is the small blemish has cost him £12,000. The vase, which would have been worth £14,000 without the chip, would now sell for just £2,000.

Experts on the Antiques Roadshow, which featured the vase yesterday, said it was the most expensive chip they had ever seen.

The three-legged Japanese porcelain vase was made in about 1900 and had been used as an incense burner.     Read More