Simply wishing to get rid of old objects, a woman living in Oyonnax accepted, at the request of her daughter, to have a painting appraised. The work was finally sold for 165,000 euros in the auction room.
She had no idea that her trinket was worth such a fortune. A woman from Oyonnax, in Ain, saw a painting she owned being sold for 165,000 euros during an auction organized at the end of March in Mâcon.
However, it was without much enthusiasm that the owner went to a free estimate day with a few objects last February, before learning the value of the work. She wanted to make room at home by parting with a few things, but her daughter insisted that she have some of them appraised, says the Journal of Saone-et-Loire.
A painting dating from 1932
During the estimate, the experts quickly realize that they are facing an “exceptional work”, although poorly preserved: “Woman in a Red Dress”, a painting on silk dated 1932 and signed by the Vietnamese painter Tô Ngoc Vân, born in 1906 and died in 1954. It comes from the very famous collection of Georges Collet, a renowned architect who worked in Indochina.
The work was acquired by an Asian buyer after a battle in the auction room, many international collectors bid for it. It was finally sold for 165,000 euros, a world record for a work by Tô Ngoc Vân.