Sotheby’s is to hold its first ever auction entirely dedicated to gold after a spike in demand for artefacts and furniture made with the precious metal.

The auction was announced following “increasingly strong demand” for gold from clients in markets such as Asia, Russia and the Middle East.

The event due to be held later this year will feature a solid gold head of supermodel Kate Moss and a gold chair which once sat in Napoleon's Throne Room.

Senior director and head of sale Constantine Frangos said: “We have seen increasingly strong demand for gold items from our clients so this the the first all gold auction being held by Sotheby’s and every department is contributing so we are going to get a real variety of items.

“Gold has always been a universal symbol of status and has huge historic provenance but we have seen this renewed demand for gold items mainly due to new interest from markets such as Asia, Russia and the Middle East.”