A mysterious brass plate, inlaid with copper, silver and gold, which once belonged to a Jewish family in Swansea caught the eye in Flog It!, BBC One’s auction show broadcast on Sunday.

Its vendor Les wondered if it was a “sacrificial plate” edged with old Hebrew — he probably meant “sacramental”, since exotic as the Jews of Wales might be, they did not go in for sacrifice.

It certainly excited the programme’s resident expert who, although he suggested a reserve price of £300-400, thought it could attract more. 

As it did, far beyond expectations of a happy Les: the £2,200 it actually fetched in the saleroom left him with money to buy a motorbike.

Intrigued by the object, the programme contacted the buyer, who believed it to be a rare, early 20th-century piece containing “Jewish and Persian sentiments”. 

The decorative writing around the border is said to be a mixture of Arabic calligraphy and old Persian timurid. In the view of the buyer, the figure in the centre, who is depicted with a gold-tailed peacock perched on his head, is King Solomon, who, according to the Koran, could talk to animals.