A jewelled golden hare that sparked one of Britain's most famous treasure hunts is going up for auction for the first time in nearly four decades. The 18-carat gold necklace could fetch between £15,000 and £20,000 when bidding closes this Friday at Sotheby's London Fine Jewels Sale.
The piece was created by artist Kit Williams in 1978 for his picture book Masquerade, which became a publishing sensation. The book featured elaborate oil paintings telling the story of Jack Hare, who journeys to deliver treasure from the moon to the sun. But Williams embedded complex riddles throughout the pages, leading readers to hunt for the real golden hare he had buried somewhere in England.
The treasure hunt
Williams buried the necklace in Bedfordshire in 1979, alongside former University Challenge presenter Bamber Gascoigne. They concealed it near a cross-shaped monument to Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's first wife. The golden hare sat inside a terracotta casket engraved with the legend: "I am the keeper of the jewel of the Masquerade, which lies waiting safe inside me for you… or eternity."
Two Manchester physics teachers correctly solved the riddles in 1982. But someone else had already claimed the treasure. That searcher, it later emerged, had been given the approximate location through his connection with Williams's former girlfriend.
Disappearance and return
The hare vanished after an anonymous overseas buyer purchased it in the late 1980s. It remained hidden in a private collection until 2009, when BBC Four producers tracked it down to Egypt for a documentary called The Man Behind The Masquerade. They brought the piece back to Britain for an emotional reunion with Williams.
The necklace, set with a ruby eye and featuring depictions of a rodent, bird and frog, was valued at £5,000 when Williams first created it. Also featured in the Sotheby's sale are Elizabeth Taylor's turquoise cuff, estimated at £5,000 to £7,000, and a diamond and imitation pearl necklace once owned by author Barbara Cartland.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
