A rare Victorian brooch purchased for less than £20 has sold at auction for £9,500 after being featured on the BBC's Antiques Roadshow. The ornate silver piece, designed by Gothic Revival architect William Burges, was bought by art historian Flora Steel at a market in 1988.
Ms Steel only became aware of its true value in 2023 when she stumbled upon an online video by Antiques Roadshow jewellery expert Geoffrey Munn, who later featured the brooch on the programme's Christmas special that year. The brooch had spent two decades hidden in a wardrobe before being rediscovered.
Auctioneers Gildings of Market Harborough, Leicestershire, confirmed the brooch's origins using Burges's design sketches held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It was one of a set of six made as a bridesmaid gift for the 1864 wedding of Burges's friend John Gibson to Caroline Bendyshe, great-niece of Admiral Lord Nelson.
Ms Steel said she had worn the brooch for about five years on the lapel of a favourite coat, but after it went out of fashion, it remained in storage until her daughter-in-law began wearing it. The piece sold at auction on Tuesday.
