He is best known as the Scot who brought ancient stone sculptures from Greece to the Britian, ensuring a diplomatic row which would echo down the centuries.  

But Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, collected more than just the marble friezes which would bear his name in popular culture, he also collected items big and small for his own personal collection, few of which have seen the light of day.  

Now a 2,500-year-old flask which once belonged to the 19th century diplomat is being sold at auction. Presumably, the Greek government has no objection.  

The 6.75-inch (17cm) decorated lekythos, or ancient Greek oil flask, would originally have been used in a bath house or gymnasium when it was crafted in around 450BC, according to auctioneers Timeline Auctions. 

READ MORE: 'Britain has no justification to keep Greek treasures'

The vessel was subsequently acquired by Lord Elgin, and is expected to sell for between £800 and £1,000, along with other ancient artefacts being auctioned by Timeline Auctions on June 6. 

The Elgin marbles, now diplomatically known as the Parthenon marbles from the Greek ruin from where they were cut, are sculptures which depict a mythological battle between heroes and centaurs and images of life in Ancient Greece.  

The Herald: Lord Elgin's flaskLord Elgin's flask (Image: Timeline auctions)

The sculptures once took pride of place atop the temple to Athena, goddess of wisdom, which stands on the Acropolis in Athens. 

The 520ft frieze ran around the outer walls of the Parthenon and was carved between 447-432 BC. 

Both The frieze and other sculptures remained largely intact until the temple, which was being used by a Turkish garrison as a gunpowder store, was blown up during a siege in 1687. 

Lord Elgin claimed to hold documents from the Ottoman Empire – then occupying Athens – which allowed him to remove he sculptures, but this has been disputed by the Greek Government.  

READ MORE: SNP join calls for return of 'stolen' Elgin Marbles

Athens has been campaigning for decades for the return of the artefacts, claiming they were illegally acquired during a period of foreign occupation. 

British officials have rebuffed repeated demands for the objects to be returned, and last year Prime Minister Rishi Sunak involved in a diplomatic spat with the Greek prime minister after it was claimed that he cancelled a meeting between the pair at the 11th hour. 

The Herald: Visitors to the British Museum see the Parthenon sculptures Visitors to the British Museum see the Parthenon sculptures (Image: PA)

Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis used an interview ahead of anticipated talks to push for the return of the Elgin Marbles, saying the current situation was like the Mona Lisa painting being cut in half. 

He was offered a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden instead but turned that down. 

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak previously said there are “no plans” to change the law, which blocks the Elgin items from being given to Greece. 

Mr Sunak said the UK had “cared for” the sculptures in the British Museum for generations and that they were “shared with the world” at the London site. 

In a statement, Timeline Auctions said: “This Timeline Auction sale is a snapshot of the wealth of valuable items still in the hands of the general public. 

“Now and then some of it makes it to an auction valuer who is blown away by this new discovery now lying in his or her trembling hands. 

“It comes as no surprise to find that when a house that is part of a deceased estate is cleared, all manner of things emerge. 

“Over the years auctioneers have found gold coins knotted into socks shoved into the very back of sock drawers, and in one case a shrink-wrapped Faberge tea service, placed carefully in the cold-water tank in the attic of a house that was being cleared after the death of the last member of the family that had lived there for decades.” 

The Herald: Egyptian artefacts are also part of the sale Egyptian artefacts are also part of the sale (Image: Timeline auctions)

Among the other items being auctioned is a 30in-high (76cm) monumental krater, or vase, referred to as the ‘hero horse vase’, which dates from around 330BC and features a central image of a warrior with a white horse. 

Monumental kraters were often used as grave markers in cemeteries, and this example, said by Timeline Auctions to be typical of the Apulian red-figure pottery produced between 440-300BC in Greek colonial regions in Southern Italy, has an estimated sale price of £50,000 – £70,000. 

The auction also features two items from ancient Egypt: a wooden mummy mask from around 944-716BC with an estimated price of £12,000 – £17,000, and a small wooden sarcophagus containing a mummified falcon, said to be made of wood, dating from 664-31BC, with an estimate of £8,000 – £10,000. 

Timeline Auctions said: “Just imagine finding an ancient Egyptian mummy mask when you’ve slipped down to the local antiques fair and car boot sale and make a find that is now going to auction for an estimate of £12,000 – £17,000.”