A SMALL bronze statue was sold to a US dealer for £155,000 at Fernhurst’s John Nicholson auctioneers, after being entered for sale with an estimate of just £200.

The 7¾ins high Indian deity, which had sat on the shelf of its owner’s home for the past 30 years, was thought to be 19th century – but now appears to be at least 1,000 years older and extremely rare.

At Nicholson’s Fine Antiques auction, on May 18, there is an opportunity to acquire a suite of jewellery by an acclaimed local designer of the 1960s and 1970s – John Donald – whose high-profile customers included Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother, among others.

A pioneering arist, his work can be found in the V&A Museum.