Victorian standish made from La Lutine timber, £2500 at Lay’s.
La Lutine, launched by the French in 1779 and later requisitioned into the Royal Navy, is today best known for its sinking.
When the 5th-rate ship of 38 guns was wrecked on a bank near Vlieland, Holland, in 1799 she had a vast fortune in gold and silver aboard. The majority of the cargo was never recovered from the shifting sands and Lloyds’s of London paid out in full.