Bargain hunt strike gold in Leek Wootton

Charles Hanson of BBC1’s Bargain Hunt and manager of Hansons Auctioneers made the find with his team of valuers on one of his free Warwickshire charity antique valuation days.

The antique was a rare portrait miniature depicting a half length view of an unidentified lady and was unearthed from a box of assorted items brought in for valuation and sale by a lady from Kenilworth.

The miniature was inscribed as being the work of Sarah Biffin. While female miniature artists are a rarity, Sarah Biffin was all the more remarkable and well-known because she was born in 1784 without arms and legs, and painted by using only her mouth to steady the brush.

Charles Hanson said: “The pink costume of the lady in the photograph would suggest the miniature was painted in the late 1830s at a time when Biffin was settling in Liverpool.

“The romance of the miniature, painted by an artist who was determined to succeed gives the object great charm.”

It is expected to generate international interested when it’s auctioned on September 22-23 and has an estimated value of around £400.