A 200-dollar watercolor discovered at an estate sale unexpectedly reveals itself as a missing Salvador Dali work, valued up to 40,000 dollars.
In a thrilling discovery for art enthusiasts, a long-lost original work by Salvador Dalí, titled Vecchio Sultano, will be auctioned off in October 2025 in Cambridge. The watercolour, created in 1966, was part of a larger, unfinished project by the renowned surrealist artist [1][2][3][4][5].
Commissioned by Giuseppe and Mara Albaretto, a wealthy Italian couple, Dalí was initially tasked with illustrating a Bible. However, Dalí, who enjoyed the subject matter of this project and believed he had Moorish ancestry, insisted on switching to Middle Eastern folktales, specifically One Thousand and One Nights [1][3][4]. The project was ambitious, with Dalí planning to create 500 works, but it was eventually abandoned after about 100 illustrations were completed [3][5].
The Vecchio Sultano represents a less typical piece in Dalí’s oeuvre, painted using watercolor and felt-tip pen, unlike his usual surrealist oil paintings [1][4]. The artwork's subject—a sultan with a large, bejewelled turban—draws directly from a tale in The Arabian Nights, showcasing Dalí’s versatility and his personal artistic interests beyond his stereotypical surreal style [1][4].
The painting surfaced unexpectedly at a house clearance sale in Cambridge, England, in 2023, where it was bought for only £150 (about $190) [1][2][3][5]. An antiques dealer recognized the signature and suspected it was a lost Dalí [2][5]. The work had apparently ended up in private ownership in the UK—likely through inheritance or sale—and was unknown or undervalued until this chance discovery [3][5].
The rediscovery of the Vecchio Sultano is significant to Dalí scholarship, especially given that the attribution was confirmed by expert Nicolas Descharnes and the painting appeared previously in a Sotheby’s catalogue but had fallen out of recognition [1][4]. The artwork will now be auctioned with a pre-sale estimate between £20,000 and £30,000 ($26,680–$40,000) [1][3].
The story underscores how valuable lost artworks can sometimes appear in unexpected places and highlights the ongoing interest in Dalí's broader body of work beyond his most famous paintings.
References: 1. BBC News 2. The Guardian 3. The Art Newspaper 4. ArtDaily 5. Antiques Trade Gazette
Embracing a departure from his renowned surrealist oil paintings, Dalí also delved into illustrating books such as One Thousand and One Nights, reflecting his versatility in adapting his art style to different mediums, including watercolor and felt-tip pen. In today's lifestyle, intertwined with technology, the value of such hidden gems is realized as they emerge in unconventional settings, like garage sales or antique shops, showcasing the everlasting allure of nature, art, and entertainment.
