A painting that sat forgotten and dusty in a garage in Oxfordshire, England for years has turned out to be a potential Renaissance masterpiece, selling for a record-breaking sum of 685,000 pounds (approximately $782,000) at auction. The artwork, titled "Madonna with Child," was discovered by its owner during a cleanup and is believed to be the work of influential Italian Renaissance painter Pietro Vannucci, better known as Perugino.
The remarkable discovery began when a man from Oxfordshire County found the painting while tidying up his garage, where it had been gathering dust under a workbench. Having purchased the artwork years earlier and then forgotten about it, the owner apparently sensed its potential value and contacted the English auction house JS Fine Arts. His instinct proved correct, as the painting immediately generated tremendous excitement among art experts.
Art specialists at JS Fine Arts determined that the work was likely created by Pietro Vannucci, the renowned Italian Renaissance master whose paintings are displayed in museums and galleries worldwide. "We knew it was something special, but the details and elegance of the Renaissance work became more apparent the longer you looked at it," lead auctioneer Joe Smith told the New York Post.
Once "Madonna with Child" was published on the auction house's website, international interest exploded almost immediately. Collectors from around the world flooded the phone lines, and staff members were buzzing with excitement about the potential discovery. The anticipation built steadily as the auction date approached, with experts predicting intense bidding competition.
When the auction finally began, chaos erupted in the salesroom, over the phones, and online as bidders engaged in fierce competition for the painting. The intense bidding war lasted approximately 15 minutes, with multiple parties vying for ownership of the potential masterpiece. An anonymous buyer ultimately secured "Madonna with Child" for 685,000 pounds, easily surpassing JS Fine Arts' previous record of 285,000 pounds.
"When the hammer fell, there was silence at first, then applause broke out," Smith said afterward. "It was one of those moments every auctioneer dreams of." The sale represented a significant milestone for the auction house and demonstrated the continued strong market for Renaissance artwork.
According to reports, the anonymous new owner immediately sent the work to a professional restorer following the purchase. Meanwhile, experts are working behind the scenes to definitively confirm whether the painting is indeed an authentic work by Perugino. If verified, it would join countless other valuable works by the artist that are housed in prestigious museums and galleries around the world.
This discovery joins a series of similarly spectacular art finds that have made headlines in recent years. In October 2024, an Italian junk dealer discovered that he had unknowingly hung an authentic Picasso in his living room for decades. He had previously found the painting in a basement and, placing it in a cheap frame, had simply nailed it to his wall as decoration without realizing its true value.
Earlier this year, a metal detector enthusiast in Saxony, Germany made another remarkable discovery when he found a 2,200-year-old Celtic gold coin. The find is considered the oldest known coin in Saxony and provides new insights into trade contacts between Celtic and local communities. The finder, who goes metal detecting about ten to fifteen times per year and has made many archaeological discoveries, revealed to the German Press Agency: "This coin is not my oldest find, but it is my most beautiful one."
These extraordinary discoveries continue to capture public imagination and demonstrate that valuable artworks and historical artifacts can turn up in the most unexpected places, from dusty garages to forgotten basements.
