Is this the Greatest of all Time goats? Quite possibly. It will certainly be in my 2024 Finds of the Year Top 10. When an email arrived from Canadian Raymond Patten saying he owned a pottery goat made by King Charles I couldn’t quite believe it. Excited, thrilled, intrigued, a mix of emotions rushed through me. It was so important Raymond flew to the UK to deliver it in person. When he placed the small ornament in my hand I was mesmerised. It’s thought to be the only known piece of sculpture by the King, a man more renowned for his paintings. The goat’s story is as quirky as the figure itself. It belonged to former Oxford University cook Nellie Patten who died aged 87 in 1993. Having no children, she gave the goat to her great nephew Raymond on his 21st birthday in 1969. She told him Prince Charles had made it. She came into contact with the royal while working as a cook for the president of Queen’s College, Oxford, in the late 1960s. The ceramic highland goat with its yellow horns was beautifully enamelled and modelled. In his retirement years, Raymond wished to find his ceramic treasure a new home to preserve it for decades to come. In June the royal goat achieved a premium-inclusive total of £11,407 at Hansons and winged its way to America. Antiques to sell? Contact Hanson Ross: enquiries@hansonross.com or visit www.hansonross.com
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