Sarcophagus sells for £40,000 at Dorchester auction (From Dorset Echo)
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Sarcophagus sells for £40,000 at Dorchester auction
5:20pm Thursday 14th February 2013 in News
The sarcophagus that fetched £40,000 at auction
A PAIR of unusual historical artefacts have gone under the hammer in Dorchester.
A Roman sarcophagus that had been used as a garden trough in a Northumberland garden was up for sale at Duke’s auctioneers in Dorchester today.
The pensioner who owned the item had contacted Duke’s after hearing of their sale of a similar item found in Dorset for £100,000.
The lot, which is believed to date back to the first or second century, went under the hammer for £40,000 – right in the middle of its estimate of between £30,000 and £50,000.
The sale also included a native American totem pole that was used as a coat stand for 30 years.
The 6ft 7ins sculpture was purchased by wealthy entrepreneur John Allen Hughes almost 100 years ago and was passed down to his granddaughter, who was unaware of its value and kept it in the back room of her Dorset home.
The item was expected to fetch up to £100,000 but ended up being sold at a hammer price of £19,000.
Laadeeda says...
9:28am Fri 15 Feb 13