Relief sculpture

One of the famed 16th century bronze plaques recovered from the charred ruins of the Benin Kingdom’s royal palace carries an estimate of $800,000-$1.2m at Quinn’s Auction Galleries in Virginia on October 1.

A marble relief, executed by the Italian Symbolist Adolfo Wildt (1868-1931), turned out to be the high point at an auction held this summer by Geble in Germany.

Five months after ATG revealed the reattribution of La Bella Principessa to Leonardo da Vinci, the man who spotted it is ready to unveil another major find.