Sayart.net - Salvador Dalí Artwork Discovered at Liquidation Sale Now Worth Thousands After Buyer Recognizes Master′s Signature

A painting by renowned Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí has been discovered at a liquidation sale, purchased for just 173.50 euros before being identified as a potentially valuable work by the famous artist. The artwork in question, titled "Le vieux sultan" (The Old Sultan), dates back to 1966 and was created entirely using felt-tip pen and watercolor techniques. According to The Guardian, this particular painting was part of an ambitious collection called "The Thousand and One Nights" that Dalí had originally planned to comprise 500 individual works, though the piece had never been made available to the public before its recent discovery. The project ultimately remained incomplete, as Dalí managed to finish only 100 paintings out of the 500 he had envisioned for the collection. Even more remarkably, approximately half of those completed works have since disappeared or suffered damage over the years. The story of "The Old Sultan's" rediscovery began in 2023 when it was sold at an art house liquidation sale for the modest sum of 173.50 euros. The buyer, demonstrating a keen eye for art, recognized what appeared to be the painter's distinctive signature in one corner of the canvas. This initial observation led to further investigation, during which the purchaser discovered several stickers on the artwork that were connected to an auction conducted by the prestigious Sotheby's auction house during the 1990s. The discovery process continued when the buyer took their research online. "A few months later, via eBay in the United States, he found the Sotheby's sales catalog, which listed the 38 cm x 29 cm painting and demonstrated that it had already been identified as Dalí's work," explained the British newspaper. This catalog confirmation provided crucial documentation establishing the artwork's provenance and authenticity as a genuine Dalí creation. The painting is now scheduled to go on sale in Cambridge, England, where art experts and collectors will have the opportunity to bid on this remarkable find. The estimated sale price has been set between 23,000 and 34,000 euros, representing a potential return of more than 130 times the original purchase price for the fortunate buyer who recognized its true value.