A dispute over the sale of a unique collection of Victorian stuffed animals looks set for the High Court after the auctioneers were accused of ignoring an offer of £1 million from controversial artist Damien Hirst - and instead selling the items in individual lots for a far smaller sum.

The collection, which was owned by John and Wendy Watts of Jamaica Inn in Cornwall, was probably the most comprehensive collection of stuffed animals in the world and had formed part of Mr Potter’s Museum of Curiosities which first opened in 1861. www.thisiscornwall.co.uk

About 10,000 items, including 6,000 stuffed animals, were on display at the inn on Bodmin Moor, where they had been a major attraction since the 1980s.

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Posted: 12|7|07 at 9:44 am. Filed under: Auction News.