FAMOUS JEWEL SOLD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20988, 26 September 1931, Page 2 (Supplement)

FAMOUS JEWEL SOLD.

£IO,OOO AT AUCTION SALE. 'ilio famous Canning jewel, gift of a 1' lorentino prince to a Mogul Emperor of llarowood, realised £IO,OOO when submitted to auction at Sotheby's recently.' The bidder was Mr. Bluett, of London. Ho was acting on behalf of a wealthy American woman, who has made many gifts .to galleries and museums, both in Britain and in the United States. ior the present tho jewel is to be added to a private collection, bul ultimately it will go to a museum in America. Only five minutes was allowed for the sale, and the auctioneer announced that unless £IO,OOO was offered the jewel would be withdrawn from the sale. Four minutes passed in silence, and then Mr. Bluett, with a, nod of his head, signified his bid—the only offer. . The jewel is 4in. high by 2Jin. wide and it is. sot with pearls, diamonds and rubies. It. is an Italian sixteenth-century work attributed to Cellini. Tho other prize piece of the sale, a superb jewelled and enamelled pendant of the High Renaissance and the property of the Countess of Lathom, was purchased by Mr. Dabell, a private buyer, for-£SOO.