Sleeper Alert
October 31 2013
Picture: Bonhams
This 'Circle of Francesco Albani, Hercules Resting' made £254,500 at auction yesterday in London, against a £3,000-£5,000 estimate. I saw it at the view, and thought it was quite good, but had no idea who it's by. One for my bulging 'Sleepers I have missed' file.
Update - two readers say Carracci, one Annibale and the other Agostino.
Update II - another reader writes:
It's a new Leonardo!!!!!!! Well, what the heck, why not join the crowd?
Update III - a sleuthing reader notes the connection with this drawing by Annibale Carracci, sold at Sotheby's New York in 1998 for £73,000. Note the difference between the position of the hand. Well done readers - case solved?
Update IV - another reader writes:
Don't wish to teach granny how to suck eggs… but re. your Hercules item: a high price against a low estimate surely does not necessarily mean it's a sleeper. In this particular instance I would call it "speccy alert". As we all know, many of them just die a slow and painful death… with bitter and twisted buyers.
The real sleeper is the one that just 'walks out' of the saleroom - largely unnoticed.
