£43 million car boot brick-a-brack?

[MickyMacgraw]

The next time you're lazily trudging between table to table in a mushy cold field and you come across and old vase with a fish logo on it grab it for whatever price you can!

http://www.telegraph....llion-at-auction.html

£43 million just for a vase? Yes it may have history. Yes it may be the only surviving item of it's era. Yes it would make a great speaking point for any of your visitors but I personally wont begrudge anyone for what they spend their own money on but me personally could think of many better ways to spend this obscene amount of money.
All of a sudden my Christmas present fund doesn't seem over the top now.

[sara3]

big deal.. I could make one of them ;o)

[wolf63]

It is an indecent amount of money for a vase - no matte how old or rare the vase is.

[MickyMacgraw]

Beauty is in the eye of the big bank account holder.

[McMouse]

Purchaser is from China and the sale has generated a huge amount of VAT and commission for the Auctioneer all of which helps our economy. This may be an obscene amount of money to you and me but is probably small change for the person who bought it.

[MickyMacgraw]

Oh 100% agree mcmouse, this vase would obviously be chickenfeed to the owner who probably could afford to leave it in one of his many dusty penthouse attics and forgotten about!

[beso]

Wow. I didn't realise the Pound's value had fallen so far. ;-)

[MickyMacgraw]

Good one beso :)

[Booldawg]

I notice even the VAT man got 10m out of the sale. That'll pay for some new windows at Millbank.

[MickyMacgraw]

And fire extinguishers booldawg.

[fredpuli47]

The VAT man, sadly, would not have got 10 million from the sale. VAT is only charged on the auctioneer's commission, not the hammer price, unless the vendor is himself VAT registered and sells in the course of his business. These vendors were private. The commission is said to be 20%. It probably isn't. High value items are usually charged at a lower rate. However,auction houses generally charge the both the buyer and the vendor a separate commission fee, which nobody has mentioned in this case.All the big ones do that.