Bumper sale of art and collectables

OLD Johannesburg Warehouse (Old JW) Auctioneers' Durban branch has a bumper sale of more than 800 lots of antiques, artworks, collectables, jewellery and coins, taking place during the first week of May.

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Rare treasures to be discovered on the sale include a 19th Century scale model of a 'man-o-war' sailing ship crafted from small bits of bone.

Charles Kerr, specialist valuator for the company, said: “The piece was possibly made by a French prisoner of war who found his way to an English prison during the Napoleonic wars. Such prisoners were often conscripts who were artists or sculptors, and who had no place on the battlefield. It was fairly common practice for such prisoners to fashion elaborate artworks from their weekly ration of soup bones.”