The artwork, titled "Vecchio Sultano" (Old Sultan), is a mixed media piece created with watercolor paint and felt-tip pen that Dalí painted in 1966. The illustration depicts a scene from "The Arabian Nights" and was originally intended to be one of 500 illustrations the renowned surrealist artist planned to create based on the classic Middle Eastern folktales.
According to Gabrielle Downie, a fine art specialist at Cheffins auction house in Cambridge, which is now selling the Dalí artwork on October 23, the Spanish master had a deep fascination with Moorish culture. "Dalí was quite obsessed with Moorish culture and believed himself to be from a Moorish line," Downie explained.
The ambitious illustration project was commissioned by Giuseppe and Mara Albaretto, Dalí's patrons, with plans for Italian publishing house Rizzoli to publish the complete collection. However, Dalí abandoned the project after completing only 100 of the planned 500 illustrations, leaving the entire series unpublished at the time.
Of the 100 completed illustrations, 50 remained with Rizzoli publishing house, where they were either damaged or lost over the years. The other 50 stayed with the Albaretto family and were later inherited by their daughter Christina, who was also Dalí's goddaughter, according to Downie. The 50 illustrations retained by the Albaretto family were finally published in 2014, sparking renewed interest in the abandoned project and raising questions about the whereabouts of the unpublished pieces.
The lucky buyer was John Russell (not his real name), a 60-year-old antiques dealer based in Cambridge, who discovered the artwork two years ago at a house clearance sale. Russell was drawn to the piece after spotting Dalí's distinctive signature in the bottom right corner, despite being uncertain about its authenticity at the time.
"The auction isn't online, so you turn up, view, and whatever you see, [that] is your chance to discover a treasure," Russell explained. "Most of the time, I buy stuff that I like. On this occasion, I was really taking a bit of a punt, because I wasn't sure I'd have it on the wall, to be honest – I do like some unusual art, but you'd have to love it, wouldn't you?"
Russell was told that the painting had been discovered in the garage of a London home. His excitement grew when he noticed stickers on the back of the artwork indicating it had been listed in a Sotheby's auction during the 1990s. "I did a little bit of research and I couldn't believe what I was looking at," he said.
The decision to bid on the artwork was spontaneous, with Russell relying on his experience from years of watching the BBC television show "Fake or Fortune" to help him distinguish authentic pieces from forgeries. "It's one of my favorite programmes," he noted.
Despite being described as an original Dalí painting, the artwork failed to generate significant interest at the auction. The painting, which depicts a bejeweled sultan, "didn't command widespread admiration," Russell observed. The vendors hadn't even set a reserve price for the piece, and there was little interest from other dealers Russell recognized in the auction room. Only one other person bid against him, dropping out when Russell offered £150.
Several months after the purchase, Russell tracked down the relevant Sotheby's sale catalog through eBay in the United States. The catalog listed the 38cm x 29cm painting and confirmed it had been previously identified as Dalí's work. Armed with this documentation, Russell approached Cheffins auction house for a professional valuation.
Cheffins consulted Nicolas Descharnes, a renowned expert on Salvador Dalí's work, who certified the painting as authentic. Descharnes told The Guardian that the style, subject matter, and colors of the illustration matched those of other pieces in the Arabian Nights series. Additionally, the quality and size of the paper were consistent with Dalí's other works from the same period.
"People expect to see very surrealist pieces by Dalí. This one is not surrealist, but it's a Dalí," Descharnes explained, noting how the artwork differs from the artist's more famous surrealist style that typically comes to mind when people think of his work.
The discovery highlights how valuable artworks can sometimes be overlooked, particularly when they don't conform to an artist's most recognizable style. The "Vecchio Sultano" represents a different facet of Dalí's artistic range, showcasing his interest in historical and cultural themes beyond his famous melting clocks and dreamlike surrealist landscapes.
This remarkable find demonstrates the potential treasures that can be discovered at estate sales and auctions, where valuable artworks may be misidentified or undervalued. For Russell, what began as an uncertain gamble based on his amateur expertise has turned into a significant windfall, transforming a £150 purchase into an artwork worth potentially 200 times that amount.
