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| A handout picture released by East Bristol Auctions on August 19, 2020 shows a pair of glasses that once belonged to Indian independence icon Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi photographed at the action house in Bristol head of their sale. — AFP/VNA Photo |
LONDON — A pair of gold-plated glasses worn by Indian independence hero Mahatma Gandhi has sold in Britain for 260,000 pounds (about US$340,000), the auction house said.
"We found them just four weeks ago in our letterbox, left there by a gentleman whose uncle had been given them by Gandhi himself," East Bristol Auctions wrote on Instagram after the sale late on Friday.
"An incredible result for an incredible item! Thanks to all those who bid."
Gandhi was known for giving out old or unwanted pairs to those in need or those who had helped him.
The non-violent protestor gave the glasses to the vendor's uncle while he was working for British Petroleum in South Africa during the 1920s or 30s, said the auction house.
The sale price smashed the original estimate of around 15,000 pounds.
Auctioneer Andrew Stowe told Sky News earlier this month that the vendor had told him: "If they're no good, just throw them away."
When he suggested they might be worth 15,000 pounds, "I think he nearly fell off his chair." — AFP
