The oil on panel that was the subject of intense competition and sold for £685,000 at JS Fine Art.
Offered on the last day of JS Fine Art’s three day Town and Country house auction on September 27, it was privately consigned and drew plenty of presale interest.
The Oxfordshire auction house does not publish estimates but told ATG that it had suggested that £100,000-200,000 was likely.
The saleroom received “numerous” pre-sale commission bids in addition to interest online and a total of 14 telephone lines booked for the lot. After a prolonged battle at the auction, with four bidders in contention up to £500,000 and three up to £650,000, the bidding then came down to two parties who carried the price upward in increments of £5000.
It was eventually hammered down at £685,000 (plus 26.4% buyer’s premium including VAT) to “a private anonymous bidder” according to the auction house.
The 15 x 20in (39 x 50cm) oil on cradled panel was believed by some to date from c.1500 and thought to be by Umbrian school Renaissance painter Pietro Perugino (1446/52-1523) (born Pietro Vannucci/Vanucci) – a teacher of Raphael – or Giovanni di Pietro, known as Lo Spagna (c1470-1529), a follower of Perugino.
Di Pietro was called Lo Spagna either because of his Spanish heritage or that he was born in Spain (research is inconclusive). One Old Master dealer suggested the thumb of the Virgin is very similar to examples attributed to Lo Spagna.
However, other specialists speculated it could, in fact, be by the hand of Francesco Francia (1447-1517) from Bologna, an artist whose real name was Francesco Raibolini, who was a friend of Raphael.
One Old Master dealer told ATG: “Gosh I wish I had been in the country to see it. What an unexpected find in Oxfordshire. At first glance I thought it was by Raphael’s teacher Perugino, but then I realised it is a masterpiece by Francia."
Director of JS Fine Art Joe Smith said: “We have held the lot for several months while research was undertaken and, while we felt strongly that an attribution to Pietro Vanucci [Perugino] was likely, we decided that without strong knowledge of the history of the work available the lot should be offered simply as “Italian old master” allowing our buyers to make their own judgments.
It is thought the private buyer believes it is by the hand of Perugino and is undertaking research before presenting it for attribution.
The record for Perugino was set by a pair of paintings, depicting Christ Crowned with Thorns and The Virgin, which sold at Dorotheum in Vienna on October 22, 2024 for a premium-inclusive €842,800.
While a painting by Lo Spagna titled by The Madonna and Child in a Landscape took a premium-inclusive $566,500 at Christie’s New York on June 8, 2011.
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Smith said that following the picture featuring in its advertisement in ATG 2710, it received a flurry of enquiries.
Smith added: “The pre-sale interest was huge with potential buyers from all over the globe, attending in person to view the painting.”
The local private vendor had purchased it several years before, not knowing what it was. Having bought and sold paintings as a hobby he is “still in shock” after the auction result.
The hammer price more than doubled JS Fine Art’s previous art record which was set 11 years ago to the day. On September 27, 2014 the firm sold a rediscovered Eric Ravilious, Bathing Machines, Aldeburgh, for a hammer price of £265,000, setting an artist record at the time.
Smith added: “I think we should schedule more sales for September 27!”
Its previous house record was set by an archaic jade axe head, with a later Qianlong inscription, which reached a hammer price of £440,000 on January 18, 2014.
Queen of Denmark?
La Roine Denemarque, a work catalogued as ‘Flemish School’ that made £20,000 at JS Fine Art.
The three-day sale had another stand out picture: a Flemish School oil on arched panel of a Tudor lady catalogued as La Boine Denemarque. It sold for a hammer price of £20,000.
One specialist, contacted by ATG after the auction, described it as Flemish/ German work dating to 1530-50.
It was consigned from a private collection in Leicestershire and had been in the family for more than 100 years.
The price took JS Fine Art “by surprise” as a recent insurance valuation, by a reputable specialist, had been significantly less.
Smith said the picture had been purchased by a member of the London trade.
One academic contacted ATG following the sale to voice his opinion on the work.
Howard Kordansky at University College London wrote: “I believe it to be a portrait of Isabella of Austria, and presumably a pendant to that of Christian II of Denmark which hangs in the Society of Antiquaries in London.”
Kordansky pointed out that the 'La Boine Denemarque' should actually read La Roine Denemarque (The Queen of Denmark) and Kordansky added: “I would imagine that it was painted to celebrate their engagement.”
