Rare Italian Bowl Worth Thousands and Purchased for $1 Brought to The Exchange

The Exchange just had a rare and valuable Italian ceramic bowl find its way through its doors.

The same bowl sold for $30,000 at Christie’s in 2011.

Irwin Werbowsky, a consigner and volunteer at The Exchange, unknowingly purchased a rare Gio Ponti glazed ceramic bowl for $1 at a yard sale recently. When he brought it to The Exchange, pricer Kim Conner researched the bowl. After finding a listing on Christie’s for the same bowl that sold for $30,000 on June 16, 2011, she contacted Bruce Crissy from Crissy Galleries in Sarasota for his input. Crissy recommended that The Exchange contact Wright Inc. for additional information. (Wright is the industry’s leading auction house specializing in 20th-century art and design.) See attached photo of Irwin Werbowsky and bowl.

Irwin Werbowsky was asked if he would like to consign the item through the Exchange or with Wright. Irwin chose to support The Exchange.

The price is yet to be determined. The Exchange in the process of determining the best way to handle the sale of the item.

 The bowl is part of a collection designed in 1925 by the iconic architect and designer Gio Ponti. The series features depictions of a female figure rendered in the Art Deco style. An architect, furniture and industrial designer and editor, Gio Ponti was arguably the most influential figure in 20th-century Italian Modernism. He designed thousands of furnishings and products — from cabinets, lamps and chairs to ceramics and coffeemakers — and his buildings, including the brawny Pirelli Tower (1956) in his native Milan, and the castle-like Denver Art Museum (1971), were erected in 14 countries. Through Domus, the magazine he founded in 1928, Ponti brought attention to virtually every significant movement and creator in the spheres of modern art and design