Salvador Dalí's Rediscovered Painting to Be Auctioned in October

Salvador Dalí's painting, "Vecchio Sultano," has been authenticated and is set to be auctioned on October 23, 2025, with an estimated value of £20,000 to £30,000. The artwork, measuring 38 cm by 29 cm, is a mixed media piece created with watercolour paint and felt-tip pen, depicting a scene from "The Arabian Nights." It was part of a series commissioned by Italian patrons Giuseppe and Mara Albaretto in 1963, intended to illustrate Middle Eastern folktales. Dalí completed 100 of the planned 500 illustrations before the project was abandoned. The painting was rediscovered in a Cambridge house clearance sale in 2023 and has been certified as authentic by Dalí expert Nicolas Descharnes. The auction will be conducted by Cheffins, a Cambridgeshire-based auction house.