Bowl and cutlery used daily by Gandhi in 1940s may fetch £60k
ABOWL and cutlery used by Gandhi during his incarceration is expected to fetch in excess of £60,000 at auction.
The personal items, used by Mahatma Gandhi while under house arrest, are being sold online by a Bristol auctioneer this month with bids starting at £55,000.
The metal bowl, two spoons and a fork, were said to be used daily by the famous leader while he was imprisoned at the Aga Kahn Palace in India for political reasons in the early 1940s.
Gandhi was not released until 1944 and, during this period his wife, who was also at the palace, died.
The activist went to stay with a friend Sumati Morarjee following his release who then sold the items to the current vendor several years ago.
East Bristol Auction house is now selling the cutlery online and said it believes the items will end up going for somewhere between £60,000 to £80,000. The same Bristol-based seller were left a pair of Gandhi’s glasses last year which sold at auction for £260,000 – 26 times their asking price.
Describing the cutlery and bowl, auctioneer Andrew Stowe said: “It’s a really humbling piece of history – here is a very simple, almost crude, metal bowl that was used daily by one of the most iconic figures in modern history.
“In many ways this bowl epitomises everything that Gandhi stood for. To think he sat down each day and ate from this very bowl, with this very fork, is just amazing.”
He said he believes these utensils are just as significant as the glasses, and hailed them as “an incredibly important set of historical artefacts, not only relating to Gandhi but to the history of India.”
The bowl is accompanied by three items of cutlery – two spoons and a matching fork carved from wood.
Andrew added: “It’s been a whirlwind few months. After our incredible sale of Gandhi’s glasses back in August, we were inundated with requests for items relating to the iconic figure.
“Many of those items were coins, photographs or pictures, but then this one came through and we just thought ‘wow!’. To anyone else this is just an old food bowl, but to many this represents not only an important historical artefact, but a real tangible link to one of the world’s most iconic figures.”
Gandhi – named as ‘Man of the Year’ by the magazine Time in 1930 – was a lawyer, political activist and ambassador for peace. He led the campaign for Indian independence from the rule of Britain in the 20th century by using non-violent resistance. Gandhi was assassinated in 1948, at the age of 78.
The bowl and cutlery forms part of East Bristol’s Christmas Collectables Auction which ends on January 10.