Tableware and other items taken from Saddam Hussein's palace will feature in a June auction

A collection of tableware and other artefacts which were taken from one of Saddam Hussein's palacesis to feature among important historical items in a militaria sale on June 1-2.

Tableware taken from Saddam Hussein's palace

All of the pieces featured in the lot are engraved with the Iraqi eagle, or the Eagle of Saladin, which has become a symbol of Arab nationalism. The huge lot includes serving cutlery, a silvered water jug and a crystal dessert dish, along with a framed photograph of the dictator and a Republican Guard beret. The collection will go into the New York sale with a starting bid of $1,250.A man was arrested earlier this yearafter attempting to auction a piece of the dictator's buttock, taken from the statue which was toppled in Firdos Square. Given the high profile of the Iraqwar and the execution of Saddam Hussain in 2006,itemsrelating tothe historic invasioncould see strong results in the coming years. The majority of important items that were looted during the fall of Baghdad in 2003 have been returned to Iraqi national museums.More emblems of tyranny will feature in the sale, including a German second world war Luftwaffe flak regiment standard. The silk banner is embroidered with a large silver bullion relief eagle and oak leaf wreath at the centre. The excellently preservedstandard will go to auction with a starting bid of $23,500. A superb busby from the personal guard of Kaiser Wilhelm II, grandson of Queen Victoria I and the last German emperor, is also expected to command large bids from collectors. The auction house has given the magnificent helmet a starting bid of $15,000. Paul Fraser Collectibles has its own selection of militaria, including a signature from the most famous English dictator, Oliver Cromwell. PFC Auctions is currently offering militaria collectors the chance to bid on a prototype of the world's first long-range missile, the infamous V-2.