Two authentic Egyptian statues sold at British auction
Two authentic ancient Egyptian statues were recently sold at a British auction for almost £200,000.
The owners thought the statues to be replicas made in either the 18th or 19th century, reports the Daily Mail. They bought the items fifteen years ago, but decided to sell them as they were moving house.
When they brought the two sphinx statues to be valued and sold at a local auctioneer, they were told that the items would sell for between £300 and £500. They were in very bad condition since they were used as garden ornaments.
However, one can imagine the owners’ shock when their statues were offered thousands at an auction held on October 9.
It was realised that the ornaments are Ancient Egyptian and likely to be more than 5,000 years old, according to the Metro.
Stone sphinx statues from Suffolk garden fetch £195,000 https://t.co/PTLEQ8Y36U
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) October 12, 2021
The bidding began at £200 but people soon began offering sky-high sums of money for the statues after 15 minutes and they sold for £195,000.
Auctioneer James Mander said: “The bidding quickly went up to £100,000 and then seemed to stall, until the hammer finally fell at £195,000 to an international auction gallery, setting a new house record.”
“These are one of the highest value lots to be sold at a provincial auction this year,” quoted the Daily Mail
The two sphinx statues are now expected to be displayed in a museum, according to the East Anglian Daily Times.
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