An original work by Salvador Dalí that was discovered in a Cambridge-based house clearance sale for £150 has sold for £45,700 at the Cheffins Art and Design Sale in October
Titled Vecchio Sultano and measuring 38x29cm, the painting is a mixed-media piece made with watercolour paint and felt-tip, and is an illustration of a scene from The Arabian Nights, a series of 500 pieces of Middle Eastern folktales that Dalí intended to create, commissioned by wealthy Italian couple Giuseppe and Mara Albaretto. They planned to publish the pictures through Italian publishing house Rizzoli. However, Dalí is thought to have abandoned the project after completing only 100. Half of these remained with Rizzoli and were damaged or lost, while the other half stayed with the Albarettos and were inherited by Christina, their daughter, who was also Dalí’s goddaughter.
The 50 illustrations retained by the Albaretto family were published in 2014 by the Folio Society, sparking new interest in the project and the whereabouts of the unpublished pieces. It’s believed the present work was part of the batch that were kept by Rizzoli.
