ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS

The antiques dealer who paid €130,000 for a Chinese vase at an auction in Offaly last week is already negotiating its resale for a “nice” profit, The Sunday Times reports.

Richard Peters said he would have gone closer to €200,000 for the vase, which had a reserve of just €100-€150. He also paid €41,000 for another two vases and said he would have been prepared to pay much more for these too.

Sheppards, the Durrow-based auction house who sold the vases, defended the prices received, claiming Peters had paid “top dollar” for them and the sellers had got fair value, even though with no reserve they could have sold for a lot less.

Odds on that Peters will be returning shortly for the next Sheppards’ auction of vases from the same client.