Tullochs director Scott Millen said the breastplate was one of a very small number to have passed through the auction house in the past 30 years.

“They were known as king plates because if you were an Aboriginal elder and you received one of these it was a bit like being crowned the king of your district or tribe,” Mr Millen said.

“These are really rare, there's a couple of collections of these in the national museums and they're very hard to come by - it’s not very often they turn up for sale. 

“We've put an estimate of $8000 to $12,000 but there’s been a fair bit of interest and we won’t be surprised if it even does a bit better than that.”

The Glover painting, titled South Wingfield Manor Derbyshire, is expected to attract bids of up to $10,000. 

“That's a lot of money for a watercolour so they're very valuable, but it’s his oil paintings that are really desirable - particularly the Tasmanian scenes sell up to $1 million plus.

“We had a Glover here last sale that sold for $20,000, so he's not the rarest artist but he’s certainly one of the most desirable of all the artists we see.” 

A number of Glover sketches will also be up for sale, which are expected to fetch up to $1000.