A tiny Buddha statue bought for just over SEK 20 at a Swedish flea market in the 1980s has turned into a multimillion-kronor discovery after experts identified it as a rare work from China’s Ming dynasty.
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experts → buy → dynasty
The gilt-bronze statue of
Shakyamuni Buddha, which had spent decades in a private Swedish home, fetched a final price of SEK 2,437,500 at Stockholms Auktionsverk’s Asian Fine Art Sale on December 11, 2025.
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which → spend → December
The sculpture was bought at a flea market in Uppsala by the eventual seller, who purchased it for its appearance without initially knowing its historical or artistic significance.
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who → buy → significance
According to Stockholms Auktionsverk, the statue remained largely unnoticed in the private home for decades before its importance was recognised.
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importance → accord → decades
The auction house identified the piece as a rare Buddha figure from the Yongle period, which lasted from 1403 to 1424 during the Ming dynasty.
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which → identify → dynasty
The period is associated with some of the finest examples of early Ming Buddhist sculpture.
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period → associate → sculpture
The statue stands just over 18 centimetres tall and is cast in gilt bronze.
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statue → stand → bronze
It depicts Shakyamuni Buddha, the historical Buddha, in a traditional Buddhist iconographic form.
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It → depict → form
Its small size, however, does not reflect the level of craftsmanship that experts found in the piece.
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experts → reflect → piece
Stockholms Auktionsverk said the sculpture features refined folds in the Buddha’s robes, finely chiselled details and unusually rich gilding.
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sculpture → say → robes
These characteristics helped place it among a small group of highly accomplished sculptures associated with the imperial Ming workshops.
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characteristics → place → workshops
The auction house described the statue as an example of early Ming aesthetics and noted that works of the same type can be found in major international collections.
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works → describe → collections
For decades, the Buddha had effectively been living an anonymous life in Sweden.
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Buddha → live → Sweden
Its eventual identification transformed an ordinary-looking flea-market purchase into the headline piece of the Asian Fine Art Sale.
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identification → transform → Sale
“It is absolutely extraordinary—and highly unusual—for a work of this quality to appear in private hands in Sweden,” Elisabet Fellbom, specialist in Asian art and craft at Stockholms Auktionsverk, said in the auction house’s announcement.
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Fellbom → appear → announcement
She described the sculpture as an outstanding example of 15th-century Buddhist metalwork and said it was significant to see it return to wider attention after its long period in private ownership.
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it → describe → ownership
Why the Yongle period matters
The statue dates to the reign of the Yongle Emperor, whose rule covered the years 1403 to 1424.
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rule → matter → 1424
This places the sculpture at more than six centuries old.
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This → place → sculpture
The period falls within the Ming dynasty, which ruled China from 1368 to 1644.
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which → fall → 1644
The Yongle era is particularly associated with major artistic and cultural production, including Buddhist sculpture.
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era → associate → sculpture
The auction house said the Buddha’s combination of detailed drapery, precise carving and gilding was consistent with the quality expected from imperial Ming workshops.
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combination → say → workshops
Rather than being a later decorative reproduction, it was presented as a genuine 15th-century work of Buddhist metalwork.
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it → present → metalwork
Stockholms Auktionsverk also pointed to comparable sculptures that have appeared at major auction houses and said examples of the same type are represented in institutions including the British Museum.
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examples → point → Museum
Once the statue was recognised and prepared for auction, its story attracted attention beyond Sweden.
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story → recognise → Sweden
The auction house said the unexpected provenance and quality of the sculpture generated strong international interest during the sale.
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provenance → say → sale
After competitive bidding, it eventually sold for SEK 2,437,500.
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it → sell → SEK
That final figure works out to more than SEK 2.4 million, making the small Buddha one of the notable highlights of the Asian Fine Art Sale.
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Buddha → work → Sale
For the original buyer, however, the story began much more modestly.
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story → begin → buyer
The statue had been picked up at a flea market in Uppsala for only slightly more than SEK 20 sometime in the 1980s.
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statue → pick → 1980s
The auction house's account does not state exactly why the buyer chose the object beyond noting that it was purchased for its beauty.
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it → state → beauty
The buyer apparently had no idea at the time that the small bronze figure was connected to the Ming imperial tradition.
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figure → have → tradition
Nearly four decades later, the difference between the purchase price and auction result became extraordinary.
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difference → become → price
A little-known decorative object that had spent years inside a Swedish home was suddenly being examined as a historically important Chinese sculpture.
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that → know → sculpture
Its final auction price of SEK 2.4375 million also illustrates how dramatically the value of an artwork can change once its age, origin, rarity and artistic significance are established.
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age → illustrate → artwork
The Aporia
