Long-lost Jungle Book paintings sell for £130k

Two long-lost watercolours from Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book have sold at auction for over £130,000 after being discovered hanging in a London home.

The pair were originally part of a set of 16 and their discovery increases the number of known surviving originals from four to six.

Both works went under the hammer at Roseberys, in London, on Tuesday where they exceeded their estimates of £15,000 to £20,000 each.

"The Cold Lairs" sold for £36,640, while "Mowgli and Bagheera" fetched £93,840.

Lara L'vov-Basirov, from Roseberys, said: "The level of bidding reflects just how rarely works of this importance appear on the market.

"To offer two of the seven known surviving original watercolours from the Jungle Book series was exceptional, and collectors immediately recognised their significance both as works of art and as part of the visual history of Kipling's most famous book.

"It is immensely gratifying to see them achieve such strong results."

Of the other four watercolours one, The Return of the Buffalo Herd, is on display at Kipling's former home Bateman's, in Burwash, East Sussex.

The newly found images, by Edward Detmold [1883-1957] and Charles Maurice Detmold [1883-1908], were published when they were just 20.

They had gone unrecognised in London for decades.

The owners, who have not been named, said: "These drawings were never treated as 'important' works in our family - they were simply part of our home.

"Finding out that they restore a missing piece of the visual history of Kipling's The Jungle Book, has been completely unexpected."

The first of the two watercolours, by Edward Detmold, depicts Mowgli and Bagheera.

The second, The Cold Lairs, is by Maurice Detmold and shows monkeys in the ruined city of the Bandar-log.

They were created in 1902/03 as part of a portfolio commissioned by Macmillan and Co in 1903.

Believed to be limited to 500 copies, the portfolio was published separately from the book, first published in 1894.

Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.