Cast of Diana’s wedding ring hand set to fetch £40,000
A RARE cast of Princess Diana’s left hand wearing her wedding ring is expected to fetch up to £40,000 at auction.
The plaster cast is believed to be the only one in existence. Her hand was cast by renowned sculptor Oscar Nemon during a sitting at his studio in St James’s Palace while he worked on a bust of the princess just before his death in 1985.
The finely detailed cast measures just over 9in long and was formerly owned by Nemon’s assistant, Karin Churchill.
The auction catalogue says: ‘This is believed to be a unique cast of Princess Diana’s hand made during her lifetime with her permission and obvious cooperation and is therefore of great importance and rarity.
‘The process involves placing the hand in a liquid silicone bath which then sets
‘Great importance and rarity’
to create a mould from which the cast is made in plaster of Paris.’
The hand cast is part of a sale next Tuesday and Wednesday which is dedicated to royalty, fine art and antiques.
The sale at Reeman Dansie auctioneers, in Colchester, Essex, also contains a cast of former prime minister Sir Winston Churchill’s right hand, which is expected to sell for up to £7,000.
Other lots which will go under the hammer include a 1950s pink satin petticoat made for the Queen. The petticoat, with crowned ER ciphers on the fringe, could sell for £1,500.
And a lot that contains the Queen’s provisional driving licence from World War Two, dated March 1, 1945, plus photos of her learning to drive and helping to repair cars when she was a wartime mechanic in the Auxiliary Territorial Service could fetch £2,000.