Thrift store shoppers are a breed unto themselves. Some have a specific “type” of item they search for, while others shop for whatever piques their interest. Anna Lee Dozier of Washington, D.C., was shopping in the 2A Thrift Store in Clinton, Maryland when such an item caught her eye. An antique-looking vase with an interesting series of images. She bought it for $3.99 and took it home. Years later, while visiting a museum in Mexico, she saw a similar vase listed as a Mayan artifact.
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Curious, Anna Lee took pictures of her vase and began working with the Mexican Embassy to identify it. The vase is tentatively identified as a Mayan artifact from 2,000 years ago to around A.D. 200-800. Mexican Ambassador Estaban Moctezuma Barragan held a ceremony at the Cultural Institute of Mexico to begin the process of authentification of the vase as a Mayan artifact. Anna Lee has agreed to donate the piece to the country.
Happy to return the piece to its rightful place, Anna Lee has a stressful reason for wanting to give the vase away. She wants the vase out of her home because she has three small boys. Knowing its origins, she fears seeing it wrecked after remaining intact for 2,000 years. She will no longer worry since the vase is on its way home.
Once the vase receives authentication as a genuine Mayan artifact, it will be on display in a Mexican museum. This isn’t the first time a thrift store has brought surprises. In Virginia, Jessica Vincent bought a rare piece by artist Carlo Scarpa for $3.99. That vase netted more than $100,000 at auction!
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