Unwanted gift dubbed Buttercup and Daisy is £10k deco masterpiece

FOR decades it stood on the mantelpiece of a family home in Midlothian - where it was known simply as Buttercup and Daisy.

But the 14in ceramic sculpture of a bare-breasted woman casually stroking the head of a panther has turned out to be a rare example of the work of an art deco designer Sandro Vacchetti.

Now up for auction at Bonhams London, the figurine priduced by Italian firm Lenci is expected to fetch up to 10,000 and to spark an international bidding war from Vacchetti collectors - who include the best-selling millionairess author Jackie Collins.

Director of 20th century design at Bonhams, Mark Oliver said he was amazed by the discovery.

"When I heard I was to receive a sculpture from Scotland called 'Buttercup and Daisy' I imagined two Highland cows," he said.

"I was delighted when it turned out to be such a stylish example of Vacchetti's work."

The piece was made at the renowned Lenci factory in Turin around 1930 - at the height of the art deco period. Its original name was Le Due Tigri (The Two Tigers).

Works of the Lenci factory were admired by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and by the black American cabaret artist Josephine Baker. Some even claim the stylised quality of Lenci designs influenced the animation of the young Walt Disney.

According to the owners of the statue, who wish to remain anonymous, the recently discovered work was bought in London during the war by the father of the present owner.

He saved up a month's salary to buy the figurine as a birthday gift for his wife - who promptly said she didn't like it and would rather have had a pair of shoes.

Nonetheless the ceramic statue remained with the family - who always referred to it as Buttercup and Daisy and took it into Bonhams Edinburgh office only after a leak led to items being moved for safe-keeping.

Mr Oliver said finding a Vacchetti work of such quality was very unusual.

"It is very rare to find a Lenci work of this stature - and Vacchetti is the designer people really go for because his designs are the most outrageous.

"The woman is a tigress, she is very self assured, very independent, a lady who is not going to stand down and submit to her man - she is a free spirit."

"Most of the works he produced were provocative caricatures, really camp and over the top - almost like cartoons."

Mr Oliver said The Two Tigers, which goes on sale in London at Bonhams' Design from 1860 auction on 17 November, is expected to attract a lot of interest.

The work has been valued at between 8,000 and 10,000 - although Vacchettis have been known to go for up to 34,000.