Fans of solid silver expected to take a shine to guinea fowl

COLLECTION OF BIRD AND ANIMAL SCULPTURES COULD ACHIEVE £5K

- By JAMES LAVERACK of John Taylors Auction Rooms, Louth

A BRACE of guinea fowl is expected to be the star attraction of a spectacular silver section in next Tuesday's auction at The Mart Saleroom in Louth.

The sculptures were made by Patrick Mavros, the Zimbabwean artist who found himself in the luxury jewellery business after carving some flower earrings for his wife. Everyone wanted a pair! Four decades later the Harare-based House of Mavros is one of Africa's most important luxury brands. The Princess of Wales is a fan, owning various sets of Mavros earrings.

The guinea fowl sculptures were made in 1996 and are hallmarked solid silver weighing in at 38.2 troy ounces. (The troy ounce being the weight in which the precious metals world prefers to operate, which is slightly more than a standard ounce.) Even the small pieces of seed at which one of the bids is pecking are solid silver.

The guinea fowl are expected to make £2,000 - £3,000 and they are just part of a remarkable collection of bird and animal sculptures that was amassed by a private local silver collector.