Local business owner Kim Lombardi of PaizLy Vintage & Antiques in Phelan made an incredible discovery while looking for vintage clothes at a Goodwill in Redlands.
Digging among endless piles of used and donated clothes, she came across an intricate silk garment that immediately caught her eye. Hand stitching with ornate buttons and vibrant colors, the fabric was luxuriously heavy and had a musky scent evoking centuries gone by. With her decades of experience evaluating vintage clothing, Lombardi instantly sensed this was far more than a simple costume piece — it was a fragment of history. Although it was overlooked by other customers and Goodwill employees, she decided to take a chance and bought the cast-aside garment for only $7, bringing it home to conduct more research.
While searching online, she found a similar robe listed on eBay that had recently sold for $3,500. More research revealed her garment was in fact, an original Chinese robe from the Qing Dynasty, made approximately between the 1800s and 1920s. The robe’s pattern also displayed a striking image of a Chinese dragon that possessed five toes on each paw, a significant distinction from a four-toed dragon, which signifies nobility, or a three-toed dragon, which represents commoners. A five-toed dragon in Chinese mythology represents the emperor and the imperial family, the highest honor, which means this particular robe was most likely only worn by an emperor.
Lombardi decided to list her treasure on eBay to attract a wider range of collectors and higher-bidding clients around the world, instead of selling it locally in her PaizLy Vintage store. Having sold vintage items on eBay for years, she expected the robe to sell for around $3,500, just like the one she saw online. Minutes after posting it, she got a $900 bid. The price quickly climbed to $2,000, then over $3,500 within a week. In the end, the robe was sold to the highest bidder for $5,200.
Some might call it luck, but Lombardi has found other valuable items before. A few years ago, she noticed a striking painting at a thrift store in Tustin. She bought it for $2.50, not knowing its true value, but had a feeling it was special, even with a scratch in the corner. The painting showed a nun in a hat and two monks, and it was painted on wood instead of canvas. Lombardi enjoyed the piece so much that she hung it in her home. Later, she learned it was an original painting by Carlo Canevari, a well-known Tuscan artist from the 1940s. After getting it appraised, she sold it to a private collector for $1,400.
Her husband, Brian Lombardi, has also been successful in finding one-of-a-kind art pieces. He purchased a beautiful landscape painting of Italy’s Lake Garda in Las Vegas for only $1.50. The painting was an original Ferdinand Burgdorff, a famous landscape painter and printmaker who died in 1975 and has permanent collections at the Monterey Museum of Art and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Brian sold the painting for $350.
The hunt for lost treasures is something that Lombardi has continued to chase ever since she sold her first vintage cookie jar for $150, which she had gotten for free. For now, she continues the hunt for old and undiscovered treasures and is even looking for the lost Rembrandt painting to complete “The Senses,” a series of five oil paintings completed around 1624 or 1625 by Rembrandt, depicting the five senses. The whereabouts of one, representing taste, is unknown. Another, representing smell, was only recently re-identified and found in a basement in New Jersey in 2015 and sold for more than $1 million.
She encourages others to look for lost and unclaimed items, which can be found anywhere, including right here in the local community. Visit PaizLy Vintage & Antiques in Phelan to start your treasure hunting today and pick up a complimentary brochure that lists local shops specializing in antique, vintage and unique crafts in the greater Victor Valley area. Follow PaizLy Vintage on Facebook at Paizly Vintage & Antiques or on Instagram @paizlyvintage
Here are a few of the nearest shops to start your search around the Tri-Community and beyond:
PaizLy Vintage & Antiques
4774 Phelan Road, Phelan, CA
760-706-8899
Hours: Tue-Sat and the first Sun of the month, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Alice’s Antique Cottage
1255 Apple Ave., Wrightwood, CA
909-800-1687
Hours: Wed-Sun, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Antique Station
19176 National Trails Highway, Oro Grande, CA
760-951-2421
Hours: Mon-Sun, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Vintage Mercantile
9461 Hesperia Road, Hesperia, CA
442-267-5777
Hours: Tue-Sat and the first Sun of the month, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Carriage House Antiques
11370 Hesperia Road, Hesperia, CA
760-948-5577
Hours: Mon-Sat, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Windsor Antiques & Vintage Lifestyle by DXTR. Co.
17455 Bear Valley Road, Hesperia, CA
442-800-5045
Hours: Mon-Fri, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sat, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sun, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Acacia’s Classic Keepsakes
11954 Hesperia Road, Hesperia, CA
760-948-1817
Hours: Mon-Fri, 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; Sat, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
