For decades, a family from England had a seemingly insignificant artifact hanging in their bathroom.
Now it turns out - it once belonged to a queen.
If you have some ancient artifacts around your home, don't be too quick to give them up - they could be unexpectedly valuable.
Something similar happened to at least one family in England who didn't care about their bathroom mirror * for decades.
The accessory was bought by a family friend in 1950 before it ended up with the current owner's grandmother and was passed on.
For a long time he had no idea what treasure he was holding in his hands.
Family has had a little treasure for almost half a century
Only now did the family have the
value of the mirror
, which is very noticeable with its typical baroque style, inspected by an expert.
It came out:
It once belonged to the French Queen Marie Antoinette
, the famous wife of Louis XVI.
The origin could be proven by an auction catalog in which the possessions of Napoleon III.
from 1889 were listed.
Napoleon's wife Eugénie took a great interest in Marie Antoinette and purchased many items that belonged to the former queen.
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Current owners brush their teeth in front of the mirror - and it's worth a lot
In the case of its current owner, the mirror found its place near the home “throne” in the bathroom.
"They didn't think he was worth anything," said Andy Stowe of East Bristol Auction, according to the BBC.
“Although the mirror had a
badge
on it, the owner thought it was just a joke and probably not true.
It was in the family for so long that they just didn't notice and brushed their teeth beforehand, much like Marie Antoinette probably did. "
The mirror measures 50 x 40 centimeters and is said to have been part of a larger exhibition in one of Antoinette's palaces.
Now the artifact is being auctioned in Bristol - it could
bring in
up to
£ 20,000
(the equivalent of around 22,000 euros), the experts estimate.
* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen digital editorial network.
Also read
: Senior woman becomes aware of the old picture while cleaning the house - now she beckons a million dollar amount.
The funniest notices from Bavaria, discovered by our users
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