The cabinet, which also went up for auction, sold for only about $40.
Brettells Auctioneers & Valuers auction house based in Newport, England auctioned off a 285-year-old lemon and managed to win nearly $1,800, as reported by the New York Post.
A 285-year-old lemon was sold at auction in the UK
The lemon was found in a cupboard of the XIX century. The head of the auction house suggested that the citrus is a gift brought from colonial India. It bears the inscription: “Presented by Mr. P. Lou Franchini on November 4,… pic.twitter.com/cCoYfcNHPG
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“We thought we’d have a little fun and put [το λεμόνι] at the auction with an estimate of 40 to 60 pounds” said the auctioneer David Brettell.
The auction house originally found the fruit from 1739 hidden in a 19th-century cupboard. His sellers, sorting through their uncle’s belongings found it and thought it might be valuable. So they took it to the auction house for appraisal.
“The lemon arrived in an ordinary trunk of Chinese merchants in the late 19th century. It was right at the back of one of the drawers so we took it out.” Brettel told the BBC.
The unique citrus has a deep brown color, but is remarkably intact. It is carved with words ‘given by Mr P Lu Franchini on 4 Nov 1739 to Miss E Baxter». The lemon may have been brought to England as a romantic gift from India, the Sun reported.
British media reported that has been “bidding war” which brought the final price of the lemon to $1,800 from an anonymous British collector.
The cabinet, which also went up for auction, sold for only about $40.
Source :Skai
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