Victorian Brooch Bought for £20 Sells for £11,500

More than thirty years ago at an antique fair in the English Midlands, Rome-based art historian Flora Steel bought a silver brooch with coral, lapis lazuli, and malachite stones worth £20. “The brooch originally caught my eye for its strong design, strange lettering, and unusual stones,” said Steel. After wearing the brooch on the green velvet lapel of her favourite coat for five years, she put it away in a closet, where it remained for decades.

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It wasn't until last year that Ms Steel came across a 2011 BBC story about a brooch featured in the Antiques Roadshow while scrolling YouTube. In the clip, jewellery expert Geoffrey Munn presented a sheet of sketches belonging to the archives of the Victoria and Albert Museum featuring three brooch designs by William Burges, an important Victorian architect most famous for his buildings in Wales like Cardiff Castle and Castell Coch. Munn said on the show that he was on a quest to find the three brooches, which he considered prime examples of Victorian 19th-century design.

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The 'Gibson' bridesmaid brooch, designed by William Burges in 1863, was bought for £20 by Flora Steel. Photo © Gildings Auctioneers

As she watched on YouTube, Flora Steel was shocked to realise that the brooch she bought 30 years ago was identical to one of the three featured in the sketches. And after contacting Gildings Auctioneers, they were able to confirm that her brooch, which combines Celtic influences with Burges' Gothic Revival aesthetic, was indeed designed by the Victorian architect, intended as a bridesmaids’ gift for the wedding of a great-niece of Admiral Lord Nelson.

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In late March, the so-called 'Gibson' bridesmaid brooch was auctioned at Gildings, with bidding opening at £6,000, until it was hammered for £9,500 (£11,500 including buyer's fees), selling to a private UK collector and admirer of Burges.

This wasn't the first time that Gildings auctioned a Burges brooch. In fact, the other two brooches featured in the V&A sketches were also sold at Gildings after their owners realised their value while watching the Antiques Roadshow. One of them, named the 'Seddon' bridesmaid brooch, sold at Gildings in 2011 for £31,000.

The 'Seddon' bridesmaid brooch, designed by William Burges, which sold at Gildings in 2011 for £31,000. Photo © Gildings Auctioneers

Stories like these aren't uncommon in the auction market. Just last year, Barnebys reported on a Ming Dynasty box bought for £19 that sold for £288,000. The many examples of rare items bought at markets for bargain prices are a good reminder that even the most inconspicuous finds could be worth a fortune.

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About the author

Giulia Zileri Dal Verme

Giulia Zileri Dal Verme is the Global Senior Editor at Barnebys Magazine. She read Classics at Oxford University and studied Art Business at Sotheby’s Institute of Art. Her research focuses on the intersection between cultural practices and visual art, with a keen interest towards the ancient world. She is engaged in the auction market and particularly fascinated by London’s thriving art scene.