Francis Bacon’s Brushes Among Oddities in Auction

Elia aged 4, poses for photographs beside a triceratops skull during a photo call at Christie's auction house in London, Aug. 5, 2013. The skull, which was excavated from private land in the U.S., is estimated to fetch between 150,000 to 250,000 pounds ($230,000 to $380,000, euro 173,000 to 289,000 ) in an "Out of the Ordinary" sale on September 5. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

LONDON — Art lovers who can’t afford a painting by Francis Bacon can bid on the late artist’s paintbrushes at an auction of unusual items.

The eight brushes — given by Bacon to fellow artist Clive Barker in 1978 — are in a paint-splattered butter bean tin inside a clear box. They have an estimated price of 20,000 pounds to 25,000 pounds ($31,000 to $46,000).

Bacon’s paintings have sold for as much as $86 million at auction.

Also among the 150 lots in Christie’s Out of the Ordinary sale: a rocking horse as tall as a house; a flying machine from Steven Spielberg’s “Young Sherlock Holmes”; a stuffed ostrich; and a Triceratops skull valued at between 150,000 pounds and 250,000 pounds.

The sale will be held Sept. 5 in London.