A pair of Mahatma Gandhi’s glasses are to be auctioned online for an estimated £10,000–15,000 by East Bristol Auctions on August 21.
The pair of gold-plated circular rimmed spectacles from c1920 feature sprung gold-plated arms and prescriptions lenses, jointed by a gold-plated nose bar.
East Bristol Auctions noted that Gandhi would often give away his old or unwanted frames to those in need or those who had helped him.
It said that Gandhi gave the spectacles to the vendor’s uncle while he was working for British Petroleum in South Africa c1930–1930 by way of thanks from Gandhi for a good deed.
BBC News reported that the frames were found in a plain envelope hanging out of the auction house’s letterbox on a Monday morning and were sat there all weekend.
Auctioneer Andrew Stone said: ‘We looked into the dates and it all matches up, even the date Gandhi started wearing glasses. They are probably one of the first pairs of glasses he wore as they are quite a weak prescription.
‘They were just in a plain white envelope. They could quite easily have been stolen or fallen out or just ended up in the bin. This is probably the most important find we have ever had as a company.’