Idaho Man Bought a Plate at a Local Thrift Store for $12.50. He Found Out It Could Have Been Owned by Napoleon Bonaparte
He bought it for less than a fast-food meal.
Grant Haws (@grantplant22), a vintage and antiques dealer, went thrifting in Meridian, Idaho, near the nursery where he worked. When he bought an intricate plate with golden gilding, he didn’t expect it could have once belonged to Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte of France.
“When I’m thrifting, I will buy a wide variety of items, but I really gravitate toward things that catch my eye,” Haws told TikTok. He’s attracted to high-quality pieces with good craftsmanship. The collector explained that he shares his love of antiques with his mother and that while he is an avid glassware collector, his mother, on the other hand, has a love for porcelain.
“My mom recently showed me Herend porcelain. Herend is made in Hungary, and they make hand-painted porcelain,” Haws explained. He showed one piece from Herend that he owns, featuring paintings of butterflies and flowers. When he inspected the thrift store’s cabinet, he saw a plate with a butterfly and flowers. He asked to take a closer look, thinking that his mother would love the piece. But when he checked the back, Haws said the plate didn’t have Herend on the back.
“Instead, I saw ‘Imperial Sev. 1809.’ So, I knew it wasn’t Herend porcelain, but seeing it was made in 1809, and knowing that ‘IMP’ is a shortened term for ‘imperial,’ that to me told me that this was a very special piece,” Haws said.
A plate fit for Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte
The collector claimed that the details on the plate were hand-painted and that the brush strokes could be seen up close. “There’s real gold gilt on this plate. And then if you can see the highlight, it was painted over with more gold,” Haws asserted. It wasn’t just a random piece from HomeGoods, so Haws bought the plate for a discounted price of $12.50 and took it home.
Nevertheless, Haws still wasn’t sure about the plate’s origins. Haws decided to use Google Lens to get a general idea of the plate. He explained, “You cannot always rely on this. But I did end up using it to get a quick guideline of what I might be looking at.” Haws said he saw similar pieces to the item being listed on a few auction sites.
“Here’s what I know after buying the plate. This piece was commissioned by the emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, as part of a dessert service that he entitled ‘Marly Rouge.’ He commissioned this set for his wife at the time, Joséphine, the former empress of France,” Haws revealed. The collector relayed that the set has about 256 pieces, including sugar bowls, ice buckets, plates, and more.
The Rockefeller family collected some of the pieces from Marly Rouge, and the set sold at Christie’s for more than $1.8 million. However, Haws’ plate is yet to be officially authenticated.
Is it authentic?
Haws claimed that he has been in touch with the department’s head of European ceramics at an unnamed auction house. “He has very few doubts that this is a legitimate piece from the Marly Rouge set. However, they do ask that I send it in before they can give any real valuation,” Haws said. If authenticated, Haws might have an Antiques Roadshow moment of his own.
Bought for $12.50, Haws said authentic, individual pieces from Marly Rouge were sold in the past for $18,000 to upwards of $25,000. Haws has not yet posted an update regarding the plate’s authenticity.
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