BNPS.co.uk (01202) 558833.
Pic: Woolley&Wallis/BNPS

A silver perforated ball carried by Elizabethan Royalty to cleanse the air and ward off contagious diseases has sold for £13,000.

The tennis-ball sized object has six segments that open up like a Terry's Orange and would have been filled with perfume, spices and herbs like lavender and sage.

The ball, called a pomander, was attached to the wrist or waist and it wafted aromatic fragrances that cleansed the air around people as they walked the dirty streets of London.