A decorative plate which hung precariously on a wall behind a door on a flimsy piece of wire has sold for almost £570,000 after it turned out to be an ancient relic. The woman who owned it had no idea of its true value and had kept the Italian pottery plate on her kitchen wall in her cottage home for many years. She only realised its importance when she invited an antiques expert to her home in Somerset to value some items. Ancient relic: This 16th century Italian plate hung precariously on a wall behind a door on a flimsy piece of wire before an art expert suspected it might be worth a lot of money. It sold at auction yesterday for £567,000 Richard Bromell suspected it might have been valuable and carefully removed it from the wall. He later identified it as Italian Maiolica (tin-glazed) pottery dating to about 1540. He said it was lucky the plate had not been damaged by the door being slammed open against it. Despite it having an inch long repaired crack at its base, Mr Bromell told the unidentified woman it was in excellent condition and could be worth £100,000. But the plate, which depicts a scene called The Feast of Herod, sold for an incredible £567,000 pounds when it was auctioned yesterday. the plate depicts the feast of Herod, following a print by German printmaker Sebald Beham in which the king and his wife are approached by Salome with the head of St John the Baptist. The scene also shows a town, a river with bathers and a boat party. 
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