Salvos shopper stunned as $8 item turns out to be ‘rare’ treasure

An eagle-eyed bargain hunter was stunned to find a rare ceramic item worth hundreds of dollars for a fraction of the price at her local op shop

Laura Feeger came across the $8 cat-shaped item designed by luxury Italian ceramics company, Bitossi Ceramiche, at a Salvation Army store in Melbourne, on Tuesday. 

Bitossi Ceramiche, a company which was founded in Florence in northern Italy in 1867, designs dozens of hand crafted ceramic items that retail for several hundreds of dollars. 

Many items from the designer range boast a price tag of more than $1,000.

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Ms Feeger, who found the object placed next to some old coffee mugs on a shelf was left in disbelief.

‘I had pivoted around to then see the cat staring back at me and it felt like I floated over to it,’ she told Yahoo. 

‘I picked it up and was in shock. I collect Bitossi and had recognised the patterns used, but had never seen this shaped cat before.’

Ms Feeger detailed her find on social media, which attracted the attention of equally amazed bargain hunters.

‘Never seen this style before, bloody beautiful find Laura,’ one person wrote. 

Others weren’t convinced the item was a Bitossi Ceramiche and speculated it could be a replica. 

‘Doesn’t look like Bitossi to me,’ one wrote. 

Ms Feeger took the item to a collector familiar with Bitossi products who confirmed the ceramic was in fact real. 

‘Initially I thought there was a chance this was not real but with confirmation from probably the world’s most knowledgeable Bitossi collector… I was able to confirm its authenticity,’ she said. 

The collector told her that the product could be worth be anything from $500 up to $1000.

Ms Feeger has decided to keep the treasured item for now.

She said the cat, which is a rare piece that comes in different colours and designs, could have been made in the late 1960s or 70s.