An elderly Melbourne couple has hit the jackpot after discovering and consigning for sale a small 320-year-old artwork that had been in their family for generations.
Given the title Three peaches on a stone ledge with a Painted Lady butterfly by auctioneers Bonhams, the work was by the Dutch master, Adriaen Coorte, and was auctioned in London early on Friday.
The pre-sale estimate was about AUD $460,000 but it was quickly exceeded before bidding eventually stopped at AUD $3.2 million, setting a new record for the artist.
Bonhams Australia chairman Mark Fraser says: “(The owners) listened to the auction online but they want to keep their identity private while they absorb the extent of their windfall. “They’re absolutely ecstatic and emotional. This painting had come with the family when they migrated to Australia from northern Europe in the 1950s.”
Bonhams is often contacted by people wanting to ascertain the value of heirlooms.
“It may only be a one in a hundred (chance) but it’s worth checking out,” Fraser says.
