A €20 flea-market lamp sells for €251,000 after hidden signature is discovered

Around 10 collectors competed fiercely for the rare ceramic lamp, driving its final auction price higher. A forgotten object, hidden in a cupboard for months, turned out to be worth a small fortune, proving that extraordinary treasures can sometimes hide in the most ordinary places. A routine trip to a flea market in northern France has produced an extraordinary auction result after a family’s bargain find was identified as a rare work by a renowned French ceramic artist. The black ceramic lamp, which cost just €20, sold for €251,000, a world auction record for a lamp by its maker. Scroll down to read the interesting story of a black lamp.A bargain purchase with an extraordinary storyAccording to French news agency The Connexion, the black ceramic lamp was bought by the unidentified woman last year at a local brocante, the French term for a flea market selling second-hand and antique items. At the time, little did anyone know that the unassuming piece was something rather valuable.The lamp was then placed in a cupboard in the buyer's home where it remained until her daughter discovered it during a house clear-out. Looking more closely, there was an incised signature beneath its bas...