Colchester woman's £90 boot-sale find is worth up to £60,000

A woman who bought a sculpture at a car boot sale was shocked to find it was actually worth up to £60,000.

Amanda Kirke bought the piece for just £90 at the sale in Ardleigh, Essex.

It was authenticated as a piece by Suffolk-born sculptor Dame Elisabeth Frink in an episode of BBC One's Fake or Fortune? programme.

Ms Kirke, of Colchester, who bought the piece in June 2022, thought it might be valuable if it was a genuine Frink but had no idea of its actual worth.

"It's a gift; a blessing that fell into my lap. I was very lucky," she said.

"We still don't know why it was at Ardleigh boot sale or where it's been for the last 60-odd years."

If fake, the scrap value of the piece would have been just £10.

When she first picked it up, it was "filthy" and had a "spider's larder" in the crevice at the back.

The semi-obscured signature caught her eye as a name she recognised, leading her to take a punt on the 14.5in (35.5cm) bronze, in what was the most she had ever spent at a boot sale.

Frink, who died in 1993, aged 62, was well known for her jagged bronze figures.

The show, which aired on Tuesday at 20:00 BST, saw hosts Philip Mould and Fiona Bruce visit Essex to investigate the sculpture.

Research showed it could be one of 10 'Small Warrior' statues cast in 1956, with others belonging to David Bowie and Nuffield College in Oxford.

However, the lack of paper trail and a blob of bronze that partially obscured the signature called its authenticity into question.

Scientific analysis of the metal helped experts conclude it was authentic when compared to other pieces.

Ms Kirke said she would need to sell the piece, but it will first be loaned to a Frink exhibition at the Dorset Museum.

"It's come at a really good time. I think I'd have been very depressed if it had gone the other way," she said.

Host Philip Mould said: "I love that from now on, the sculpture is going to be known as Small Warrior: Colchester car boot sale. I imagine everyone is seeking out their local car boot after this."

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