Rare ceramic goat made by King Charles 55 years ago fetches ₹9 lakh at auction
The pottery goat, painted with yellow and pink stripes, was made by King Charles in the1960s. He gifted it to Cambridge University’s cook, Helen Patten.
A pottery goat, believed to have been crafted by King Charles during his time at Cambridge University, went on sale in May this year. The rare ceramic goat has fetched £8,500 (approximately ₹9 lakh) at an auction in Staffordshire on June 4. According to reports, the total cost, including the premium of the goat painted with yellow and pink stripes, is £11,407 (approximately ₹12 lakh).
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King Charles gifted the ceramic goat to Cambridge University’s cook, Helen Patten. Later, in 1969, it was gifted to Patten’s nephew Raymond Patten, a former carpenter in British Columbia, on his 21st birthday.
Patten, who is 76 years old, put the goat up for auction at Hansons Auctioneers in Staffordshire owing to its “historical significance”. It is believed to be the only piece sculpted by King Charles.
He said, “My Aunt Nellie, Helen Patten, gave me the goat on my 21st birthday on June 22, 1969. She told me Prince Charles had made it.”
Patten added that he had “treasured” the goat all his life but wanted the rare art piece to find a new home.
He further revealed that his aunt cooked a meal for the Queen Mother. “My aunt, who passed away at the age of 87 in 1993 in Cheshire, used to live at 37 Norfolk Terrace, Cambridge. She was my grandfather’s sister and never married. She was honoured to serve members of the royal family. She cooked a meal for the Queen Mother,” he shared.
King Charles, who was then Prince of Wales, attended Cambridge’s Trinity College from 1967 to 1970 to study Archaeology, Anthropology, and History.
King Charles and his passion for art
King Charles is known for his paintings. In 2023, the auction house sold childhood drawings of King Charles were sold for £46,000 (approximately ₹49 lakh). The drawings, made by King Charles when he was five or six years old, were of his mother Queen Elizabeth II and father The Duke of Edinburgh.
“King Charles has demonstrated a passion for art throughout his life but is mainly known for his paintings. The discovery of this ceramics piece demonstrates another side to his talent. As far as we are aware it is the only example of pottery made by King Charles in existence. It represents his early passion and artistic flare working in ceramics in the late 1960s,” said Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons Auctioneers.