Necklace found in Windermere area could make £8,000 at auction

The amethyst-adorned serpent is something of a mystery, with the family that is selling it unaware of its existence until the home in question was emptied after the death of its owner.

Jackie Rothwell, silver and jewellery valuer at 1818 Auctioneers, said: “The family who are selling it say they’ve never seen it being worn or know how the owner came to have it.

“Serpent jewellery became very popular in the Victorian era after Prince Albert gave Queen Victoria a snake engagement ring with an emerald, her birthstone, embedded in its head.

"People began to associate the snake motif with eternal love. The popularity of this type of jewellery continued through to the 1920s, as it matched the fluid lines and animal motifs of the Art Nouveau period."

Tested as being of gold and silver, the necklace is being sold in its original case with a receipt from Byworth Antiques, London, dated 1974.

GOING, GOING: The Snake Necklace. Picture: 1818 Auctioneers

Ms Rothwell estimated the piece would make between £5,000 and £8,000 in 1818 Auctioneers' online auction, which ends on July 4.

She said: “Snake jewellery was designed to wrap around fingers, wrists and necks, and many, like this necklace, close with the mouth of the snake around the tail end. Designed as flexible coils, they look like they are slithering round wrists or necks.”

Visit www.1818auctioneers.co.uk for more. Bids and condition reports can be made online or by phoning 1818 Auctioneers on 015395 66201.