The Golden Hare

Writes SquirralBasket:

. . . One of the most amazing pieces of hare jewellery ever must surely be the golden hare pendant with tinkling bells made by Kit Williams as the prize for solving his “treasure hunt” book Masquerade, published in 1979 . . . It was a picture book containing cryptic clues and riddles that eventually led to the jewel, buried in a crock in the shadow of Catherine of Aragon’s Cross at Ampthill in Bedfordshire.

Tens of thousands of questers all over the world tried to find the treasure but in the end it went to someone who (it was later found) had inside knowledge, which was a terrible shame, as around the same time someone else had actually solved all the riddles and worked out the answer for real.

For several decades now Kit Williams has lived as a recluse, but carried on painting, some of his work being of a rather “titillating” nature but still beautifully detailed and colourful.

The BBC did a fascinating TV programme about him last year, in which he was reunited with his fabulous golden hare.

– "From Mad March Hare to Golden Hare"

SquirrilBasket

March 14, 2010

Related Off-site Link:
Return of the Golden Hare: It captivated Britain – An Epic Treasure Hunt for a Beautiful Jewel Buried in a Cow Field – Jane Fryer (MailOnline.com, August 25, 2009).