Fabergé's homage to priceless talent of Jinky – and it could be yours for £20,000

Published on Wednesday 29 April 2009 22:41

HE WAS one of Scottish football's gems, a diminutive but devilish talent who tormented defences with his dribbling and impressed the world with his courage.

Now, a glittering tribute to Jimmy "Jinky" Johnstone, the late Celtic footballer, is to be sold off, helping to finance research into the condition which claimed his life.

A rare Faberg egg inspired by the former Lisbon Lion is expected to sell for close to 20,000 when it goes up for auction next month.

The egg, number 13 of 19 produced, was handcrafted by Sarah Faberg, the great granddaughter of the Tsar's jeweller, Peter Carl Faberg.

Forged from platinum and gold, the egg depicts Johnstone striking a diamond football. When opened, a gold, silver and jewel-encrusted shell reveals a tiny replica of Johnstone's major honours with Celtic – the European Cup, nine league championships, four Scottish Cups and five League Cups.

The current owner of the egg, a Scottish businessman and Celtic fan who lives in Liverpool, purchased it for about 10,000 four years ago. However, having struggled to find insurance for his possession, the anonymous owner has decided to put it up for sale at a sporting memorabilia auction in Edinburgh.

Whatever profit he makes, he has vowed to give half to Johnstone's widow, Agnes, to help motor neurone disease charities.

Jinky, voted Celtic's greatest player, succumbed to the disease in 2006 at the age of 61 after a long fight, having worked tirelessly to raise funds towards a cure.

Ms Faberg became aware of the player's remarkable life through the film The Lord of the Wing and found herself inspired to create the egg, making Johnstone the first living person to be so honoured since the time of Tsar Nicholas II and the Tsarina Alexandra.

Sales of the other 18 eggs have already helped raise tens of thousands of pounds, with one bought by former Celtic director, Willie Haughey, for 47,000 at a charity auction.

David Convery, the director of Convery Auctions, who is organising the sale, said: "It's a remarkable item, a very attractive thing. I've had lots of inquiries over the years about the eggs, but this is the first one I've ever sold."

Mr Convery, a former head of sporting memorabilia at Christies, said the owner had offered it to football museums on loan, but to no avail.

He said: "To get insurance for it was nigh-on impossible. So, of course, he was living with it at home and every time he left the house, he was like, 'When I get back will it still be there?' These are some of the problems people have.

"If it makes the 10,000 price he paid for it then fine, but if it makes any more than that then he will donate half the profit to charity."

The lot is part of a host of sporting items to be sold at the auction on 20 May at the Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston.

Other items include rare 19th-century golf medals awarded to Edinburgh-born Frederick Guthrie Tait, estimated to make 180,000, various Hearts items, and a large collection of memorabilia relating to Don Revie, the former Leeds United manager.

THE WIZARD ON THE WING

BORN in Viewpark, Lanarkshire, in 1944, Jimmy Johnstone signed for Celtic in 1962, quickly establishing himself as a fans' favourite with his ability to dribble past players with apparent ease, a skill that earned him the nickname Jinky.

A key part of the Lisbon Lions side that won the 1967 European Cup and nine league titles in a row, Johnstone played 515 games for Celtic, scoring 130 goals, and was capped 23 times for Scotland. Jock Stein said he was "better than Stanley Matthews".

Voted Celtic's greatest player ever in 2002, the year after he was diagnosed with the motor neurone condition. He died at his home in Uddingston in 2006.