Owner’s shock as ‘unwanted’ Indian figure sells for £200k

A FIGURINE that sat unwanted in an antiques shop for 30 years has sold for £200,000.

The owner of the business thought the 8in statue of a goddess dated back only to the 19th century. In fact it was made in India 1,000 years ago.

Its true worth emerged when the figurine, right, was sent to auction with a reserve price of £200. Calls started coming in from bidders around the world and it went under the hammer this week for £155,000. Fees pushed the final price to £199,640.

Auctioneer John Nicholson, of Haslemere in Surrey, said: ‘The vendor was absolutely staggered. Anybody could have bought it for £200.’