A painting by Salvador Dalí, discovered during the sale of a household’s contents in Cambridge, UK, was bought for £150 (approximately €173) by an art and antiques dealer in 2023. Once identified and authenticated, the painting is set to be auctioned again in October, with an expected sale price ranging from £20,000 (€23,114) to £30,000 (€34,671).
Titled ‘Vecchio Sultano’, the work has been authenticated by expert Nicolas Descharnes, according to Cheffins.
The auction house revealed that the artwork combines watercolor and markers, depicting “a scene from ‘One Thousand and One Nights’, a series of 500 pieces that Dalí intended to create based on Middle Eastern folktales, commissioned by wealthy Italian couple, Giuseppe and Mara Albaretto.”
“The seller, wishing to remain anonymous, […] discovered that the work had been listed for sale at Sotheby’s in the 1990s, fully attributed to Dalí. The loss of an attribution is quite rare in the modern art world, making this a significant rediscovery for Dalí scholars,” remarked Gabrielle Downie from Cheffins.
Downie also mentioned that handling the genuine rediscovery of a work by one of the world’s most famous artists and the godfather of surrealism is “a true honor.”
“It was an exciting process to research and authenticate this painting, and it is a testament to the significant artistic knowledge of the seller that they were able to identify this image during a household contents sale. While Dalí’s works are often some of the most recognizable, this is an unusual piece that shows a different side of his practice with watercolor,” she added.
Downie explained that initially, the couple intended for Dalí to illustrate a Bible in 1963. However, at the artist’s insistence, “he ended up illustrating scenes from ‘One Thousand and One Nights’, a collection of Middle Eastern folktales.”
“It seems that Dalí was fascinated by Moorish culture and believed himself to be descended from Moors. This project was abandoned, with Dalí completing only 100 of the 500 planned works. Of those 100, half remained with publisher Rizzoli and were damaged or lost; the other 50 stayed with the Albarettos and were later inherited by their daughter Christina, who was also Dalí’s goddaughter,” she said.
The 50 illustrations kept by the Albaretto family were published in 2014, reigniting interest in the abandoned project and raising curiosity about the whereabouts of the unpublished pieces.
“I think, given that Dalí fashioned the commission according to his whims, he greatly enjoyed this project and its theme. It’s very likely that the work in question is part of the batch of 50 that remained with the publisher and was later lost,” she speculated.
The auction will be held on October 23.
