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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 23 FEBRUARY 2014 News 17 MATTHEW VELLA PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD THE hallowed gates of 'The Olives' in Xintill Road have been opened to the public: viewers will be able to see over 700 lots of artefacts, gifts, furniture, books, memo- rabilia, silverware and art that belonged to the late prime minister Dom Mintoff. Inside his Tarxien residence, auctioneer Joseph Sam- mut is still busy cataloguing the items, which he has laid out in various collections across four rooms on the ground floor. By far the most impressive pieces are a €5,000 Saint Petersburg silver tureen, and two 19th century Mal- tese serpentine chests. But admirers of the late premier might want to get their hands on the books whose pages his fingers leafed through: Gramsci's prison notebooks in Italian, biographies of Karl Marx and Willy Brandt – Mintoff's socialist pedigree was built on a true under- standing of political and economic history. For those with a more folkloristic fascination of the La- bour leader, a horseshoe buckle is also being auctioned. A beautiful horse saddle gifted to Mintoff by the Libyan dictator Muammar Gadd- afi is valued at €2,000, while other 'political' gifts are those from Nico- lae Caescescu, the Romanian dictator, Italian prime min- ister Bettino Craxi, and various other gifts from North Korea. Collectors will be interested in seeing his collection of canes, replete with horse motifs and other curious crea- tions, ornamental daggers and muskets, photos and a caricature by Evening Standard cartoonist Raymond 'J.A.K.' Jackson; or other personal items like wristwatch- es, medals, and lighters. No pipes, it would seem, are on sale… Viewers can inspect the items on February 25, 26 and 27 at 'The Olives', Triq ix-Xintill, Tarxien; the auction takes place at Belgravia Auction Gallery, St Julian's, over four days from the 5-8 March. 'Mintoff for sale' MORE PHOTOS http://goo.gl/FWF7xB WATCH 'Mintoff For Sale' http://goo.gl/ceLyf4 Auctioneer Joseph Sammut of Belgravia Auctioneers, says auctioning 700 lots is a tiring job: 'Apart from cataloguing and researching every lot, we have to pack everything up for the auction and then hold it over four days to be able to manage bidders seeking to purchase these items.' This 19th century Saint Petersburg gilt-packed silver tureen is being valued at €4,000 to €5,000, the most valuable piece on offer apart from a range of silverware, glassware and ceramics, and 19th century furniture. Apart from the equine motifs on Mintoff's extensive collection of canes, some of them carry personal inscriptions. Seen here are the books that belonged to the late premier, some of them signed and gifted by the authors themselves; literary and political formation: Moravia and Gramsci. Gifts from the People's Republic of China, North Korea, Romania and Italy. Above: a collection of Janbiyas