The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Doubts cast over value claims on Perthshire castle’s silver
Online seller puts £270,000 price tag on ornate basket
A claim that an ornate silver basket that had pride of place in a Perthshire castle could be worth £270,000 has been questioned by a local expert.
According to the online seller from America, the Breadalbane Basket would have been centre stage as a table setting at the castle and could even have been used to serve Queen Victoria.
“In 1842 Queen Victoria visited Taymouth Castle where she declared the interior décor ‘the wealthiest in the world’,” says the description on eBay.
“She specifically praised John Campbell’s Marquess of Breadalbane coronet-engraved sterling and fondly recalls being served a batch of freshly baked oatcakes.”
The family who lived in Taymouth Castle at Kenmore were fabulously rich but local auctioneer Nick Burns of Lindsay Burns and Co in Perth believes it would be worth only a fraction of the $350,000 asking price.
The description says the basket measures about 16 inches across.
“The London and sterling hallmarks are worn but discernible and it was crafted between the years of 1756 and 1820,” says the seller who claims there is an identical basket on permanent public display at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
“The outline of the exact year hallmark is visible but unreadable and it has no maker’s mark.”
When contacted by The Courier for his opinion on the piece, Mr Burns said: “Not everything on the internet is to be believed, buyer beware.
“From the description it doesn’t have a date or hallmark – it is something that is probably worth £1,000 on a very good day.”
The Taymouth Castle connection might push the price up, he conceded, but pointed out that the silver content of the piece was around £800.
The seller, who has the eBay name wet in washington, has sold more than 7,000 items and achieved 100% feedback for his transactions.
When contacted about the best price he would accept, the seller responded: “We usually get about two thirds our asking price, so about $250,000 and that seems consistent with other Taymouth silver pieces.”