Egypt

Egyptian Islamic ewer mistakenly sold as French jug

United Press International

A piece billed as a French claret jug at a Crewkerne, England, auction has turned out to be a medieval Egyptian ewer worth $10 million.

The item, which was purchased by an unknown buyer for about $430,000, was described in the auctioneer's catalogue as a French jug, but was later revealed to be one of only six surviving Fatimid rock crystal ewers from the 11th century, The Independent reported Monday.

A London dealer said the jug auctioned by Lawrences auctioneers in Crewkerne could be considered the "Holy Grail" of Islamic art.

Daily Mail

There is a photograph of the ewer on the above page.

A crystal ewer worth £5m dubbed the "Holy Grail" of Islamic art has sold for just £220,000 in what was reported to be one of the biggest bargains in auction history.

The ewer ,first described as a 19th century French claret jug and orginally estimated at £100-200 by Lawrences auctioneers in Somerset, stunned the antiques world when it was bought for more than one thousand times its guide price after two anonymous buyers became locked in a bidding war.

See the above pages for more details.

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