Zsolnay vase fetches record sum at auction

A remarkable Zsolnay vase was sold at auction in Budapest's Virag Judit Gallery on Sunday for 19 million forints (EUR 62,700), setting a new record for the work of the renowned porcelain and stoneware maker.

The one-metre-high vase was made about a hundred years ago by Sandor Apati Abt, one of the factory's most famous artisans.

Bidding for the vase started at 10 million forints, and nine offers were made before the Zsolnay Museum in Pecs, southwest Hungary, took it for its collection.

The last record set at auction in Hungary for a piece of Zsolnay was 15 million forints, for a bowl designed by Jozsef Rippl-Ronai, a renowned Hungarian painter.