From £150 Find to Auction Star: Lost Dali Masterpiece Makes Waves!

Salvador Dali, the famous Spanish surrealist artist, created a unique artwork called Vecchio Sultano. This piece was recently discovered during a house clearance in Cambridge and was bought by an antique and art dealer for just £150. The artwork, which combines watercolour paint and felt-tip pen, is an illustration inspired by the Arabian Nights. After being authenticated by a Dali expert, the painting was sold at auction for tens of thousands of pounds, much more than its original estimated value of £20,000 to £30,000.

Cheffin Auctioneers, the company that sold the painting, explained that Vecchio Sultano is part of a series Dali intended to create. He planned to make 500 pieces reflecting Middle Eastern folktales, commissioned by a wealthy Italian couple. However, Dali only completed 100 of these works. Half of them remained with the publishing house Rizzoli, while the other half stayed with the Italian family who commissioned them. These were later inherited by their daughter Christina, who was also Dali's goddaughter.

Gabrielle Downie from Cheffin Auctioneers shared that the seller, who wishes to stay anonymous, researched the painting and discovered it had been offered for sale at Sotheby's in the 1990s, fully attributed to Dali. She said that losing an attribution is rare in modern art, making this rediscovery significant for Dali scholars. The artwork, measuring just 38cm by 29cm, is unusual because it shows a different side of Dali's artistic practice, especially his use of watercolour. The piece is seen as a departure from Dali's more famous works. Dali died in 1989, but his art continues to be celebrated and rediscovered, showing the lasting impact of his creativity.