A jewelled golden hare that inspired a nationwide treasure hunt in 1979 has sold for an eye-watering £82,550 at auction.
The necklace, linked to the beloved book Masquerade, went under the hammer for the first time in nearly 37 years.
Handcrafted from 18-carat gold, it had been buried by artist Kit Williams in Ampthill Park, Bedfordshire, with TV presenter Bamber Gascoigne as the sole witness.
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At the time, it was worth around £5,000.
Williams created Masquerade, a book filled with cryptic riddles pointing to the hare’s location, sparking a frenzy of treasure hunters from around the world.
The prize was finally unearthed in 1982, hidden inside a terracotta casket sealed with wax to evade metal detectors, as reported by What’s The Jam.
The hare’s discovery was shrouded in secrecy – Dugald Thompson, using the pseudonym Ken Thomas, insisted on covering his face with a scarf and would only be interviewed from behind a screen.
Set with a ruby eye and a body featuring flowhead motifs inlaid with turquoise, the hare previously sold for £31,900 in a 1988 auction and had remained with the same family ever since.
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Ahead of the sale, Williams said: “The current owners have been good and generous guardians of the Masquerade Jewel, agreeing to put it on public exhibition at the V&A Museum and at the Sydney Opera House.”
Auctioned by Sotheby’s – the same house that sold it in 1988 – it had been expected to fetch between £10,000 and £20,000.
Tabitha Downer, Sotheby’s head of sale and fine jewellery, said there had been steady offers before competitive bidding drove the price to £82,550.
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She added that the golden hare was purchased by a UK-based private collector.
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