Is it better not to say anything

[katenik]

I agree that the uncle should make the call to his sister. He doesn't want it, so he's a neutral party. He can ask his sister if she wants it, and can arrange to pick it up soon, and if not, tell her that their niece is interested in having it. It's possible that she will have no objection at all to the niece keeping it, even if she still sort of wants it for herself. Younger family members often do not want the "antiques" that belonged to the older generation, so perhaps it never occurred to the aunt that her niece would like to have something from her grandmother's house.