A "rare and important" pair of iconic glasses worn by Indian independence hero Mahatma Gandhi look set to sell for tens of thousands of pounds after a British auction house put them up for sale on August 21st. Gandhi’s spectacles turned up at an auction house in Bristol. Gandhi was known to give away unwanted pairs of glasses to people who helped him.
The glasses are expected to fetch for more than $19,600. The East Bristol Auction house has collected bids through online. So far, collected amount of bids reached to $85K. Their initial estimation for iconic eyeglasses was actually 10K-15K pounds. They surprised and shocked after bids raised quickly exceeded to 50K pounds. Gandhi’s glasses go under the auctioneer’s hammer on August 21. The spectacles formed an important and somewhat iconic part of Gandhi's overall appearance, a rare and important pair of spectacles. Auction house mentioned in its website about spectacles.
Mahatma Gandhi gave the glasses to the vendor's uncle while he was working for British Petroleum in South Africa during the 1920s or 30s, said the auction house. Gandhi worked as a lawyer in South Africa before he left for India in 1915 to launch the South Asian country's freedom movement against the British colonial rulers. The iconic spectacles are due to go under the hammer on August 21, but have smashed expectations with online bidding already up to £50,000.
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