Treasure found in a £1 box of goods
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AMATEUR antiques collector Simon Grech took a punt when he spotted a box of bric-a-brac at Dingwall Auction Mart on sale for £1.
But the Highland Council community warden was stunned to find buried beneath the chipped crockery and tea pots a beautiful slate box hand-made by a 20-year-old African prisoner more than 100 years ago while he languished in a camp during the Boer War.
The artefact, which has the prisoner’s initials SJP Venter scratched on its underside and is inscribed with the name Bellevue Kamp and the dates 1899 and 1902, is being snapped up by a notable London specialist.
The expert, who collects Boer War memorabilia, has offered Mr Grech £300 for the box, which is engraved with a South African folk flower motif and topped with an intricate quail bird.
Mrs Grech’s wife Marianne, who traced details about the box’s original owner, said it was a "really exciting find".
She said: "Simon likes to visit the Dingwall Auction Mart because he collects and fixes clocks.
"He came home with this box and the prisoner of war box was stuffed inside. It caught my eye so we did some research and it seems to have been made by a 20-year-old prisoner who was locked up in the Bellevue Kamp for prisoners of war in Simonstown, South Africa, during the Boer War.
"But we don’t know what happened to him or how the box came to be in Scotland, and we would love to find out."
The couple, who stay at Balnacraig Road at Dalneigh in Inverness, contacted The Anglo-Boer War Museum in Bloemfontein, the only museum in the world dedicated solely to the Anglo-Boer Wars of 1899 to 1902, and they gleaned some interesting information.
A historian told the couple a large number of Boers were captured in the vicinity of the Brandwater Basin in July and August of 1900.
A quick run through the names on the Bellevue Kamp’s prisoner database reveals that Stephanus Johannes P Venter, a 20-year-old man from the Wepener District, was captured at Fouriesburg in July 30.
But the young prisoner’s fate may never be known because no more details are held.
The historian described the item as "a beautiful slate box" and said it had significant historical importance.
Mrs Grech (51) said it was a good thing Mr Venter had scratched his name on the box.
"I’d never have tracked this poor young guy right down to the day he was captured," she said.
Praising her husband’s nose for buried treasure she said: "He’s done really well. He’s only been going to the auction mart for a few months, it’s just a hobby, but he came back with a painting of The Alps for £1 which I’ve had valued at £1000."
However, she said some of his other finds were rather more questionable.
"The other week he bought a piano. I said ‘that’s great, how are we going to get it home?’.
"He said ‘well it was only £12, I couldn’t resist it’."
