The Holburne Museum in Bath wants to buy the 17th Century basket, made to celebrate the reign of King Charles II.

BBC: Holburne Museum appeals for bead basket funds

And diarists Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn wrote of the spectacle they witnessed when King Charles II took part in a pageant in 1660, a year after the restoration of the monarchy.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

In 1675, the foundation stone of the Royal Observatory was laid at Greenwich in south London by order of King Charles II, to improve knowledge of the positions of stars and thus aid navigation.

CNN: Sunday,

Eventually he became court painter to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Philip II, King of Spain.

ECONOMIST: The greatest painter of the Venetian Renaissance