It only takes two

This seems like a case of shared misplaced optimism, to the consignor's great benefit:

A painting given a reserve of £1,500 sold for more than £2m at auction after bidders became convinced it was a Rembrandt self portrait.

The work had hung on the wall of a house in Cirencester for several years before being sold in the town. . .

Deciding to do some more research on the painting, [auctioneer] Mr Allwood spoke to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Experts there assured him that, while it was of the period of Rembrandt, it was "probably not" painted by him.

Full story here.

UPDATE: The BBC writeup doesn't mention it, but apparently quite a few London dealers were in on the bidding, and this article from the Netherlands indicates that the picture has a good chance of being right. Jan Six and Johnny van Haeften are cited as thinking the odds a reasonable gamble at the price -- and even if it isn't autograph, the odds are very strong indeed that it is at least a contemporary work from Rembrandt's immediate circle, thus sharply limiting the downside.

Jousting still dangerous

A man has died after an accident during filming for the Channel 4 programme Time Team, it was revealed yesterday.

The man, who has not been named, was re-enacting a joust scene last month for a forthcoming special episode of the popular programme at Rockingham Castle, Northamptonshire.

During filming, a splinter from the tip of a jousting pole [read: lance -- D.] flew into the eye-slit of the man's helmet after clashing with his shield.

The tip of the pole, made from balsa wood, is designed to split on impact. However, a splinter flew into man's eye-socket and hit the soft tissue behind the eye. He was taken to University College Hospital in Coventry, where he remained in a stable condition for several days but died a week later in hospital.

From the Independent. More on the victim here. Of course, this immediately recalls the death of Henry II of France, and there is mention of a similar, nonfatal, accident in recent years at Sword Forum. That the death in this case happened in hospital a week after the accident, however, suggests that there's more to the story than the initial injury -- especially since it has been reported that the cause of death was blood loss.

UK inquest into submarine snafu?

The discovery of previously secret documents has lead to calls for a new inquiry into the sinking of a British submarine 56 years ago, killing 75 men.

HMS Affray sailed from Gosport, Hants, on a routine training exercise in April 1951 but never returned.

It was found two months later 46 miles (74km) south of Portland in Dorset.

National Archives memos show officers were criticised for passing it fit for sea and the Admiralty tried to cover up the circumstances surrounding the loss.

Full article here.

Trucker arrested in Goya theft

A truck driver who stole an art masterpiece from an unattended transport truck, then claimed he found it in his basement was charged with theft, authorities said.

Steven Lee Olson, 49, was charged with stealing "Children with a Cart," a 1778 painting by famed Spanish artist Francisco de Goya, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. The painting was insured at a value of about $1 million. . .

Within days, Olson contacted federal authorities through an attorney to say he found the painting in his basement, said U.S Attorney's office spokesman Michael Drewniak.

After a lengthy investigation, authorities determined that Olson, a self-employed truck driver, had lifted the piece himself, Drewniak said.

"It was a crime of opportunity that didn't pay," FBI agent Sandra Carroll said.

From the Associated Press. The local paper adds more colorful detail:

Susan Tranquada said she wasn't impressed when her boyfriend showed her an old painting last year that he said he'd found in the basement.

"When you look at it, the faces of the children, they're scary," she said Wednesday.

On Tuesday, federal authorities arrested the heavily tattooed trucker and charged him with stealing the work . . .

Tranquada said she was shocked when agents burst into their Carlstadt apartment late Tuesday as Olson sat eating takeout fried chicken in his underwear. . .

Olson, 49, was brought into federal court in Newark wearing jeans and a gray "Hog Wild" T-shirt that featured a pig on a motorcycle. . .

Olson told her he'd been rooting around their basement when he discovered the painting. He proposed hanging it in their apartment, but she refused, citing the subjects' faces.

"I wouldn't put this on my wall," she said.

So much for cunning master criminals.

The Knights of Malta, digitized

The Malta Study Center of the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library announces that it will resume manuscript preservation work in Malta.

On Oct. 23, Dr. Theresa M. Vann, The Joseph S. Micallef Curator of the Malta Study Center, will sign a contract with Mr. Charles J. Farrugia, national archivist of Malta, to digitize the Magna Curia Castellaniae collection held in the Banca Giuratale, Mdina. . .

The Magna Curia Castellaniae is the archives of the central law court of the Knights of Malta. This court had jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases on the islands of Malta and Gozo. The archives consist of 1,411 volumes plus various registers and indexes, dating from 1543 until 1798. . .

The Malta Study Center of the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library has already microfilmed the Archives of the Knights of Malta, held in the National Library of Malta. The archives date back to the 12th century, and are an important source for the history of crusading warfare and Mediterranean culture. . .

The Hill Museum & Manuscript Library is also currently digitizing the archives of the Rome Priory of the Knights of Malta, and it is engaged in several manuscript digitization projects among Christian communities in the Middle East.

Full article here.

Million-dollar painting dumped on the street

A painting stolen 20 years ago then found lying in a pile of rubbish on a New York City street could fetch up to $1m (£488,000) at auction next month.

The 1970 painting Tres Personajes (Three People) by Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo was taken from a warehouse where the owners had placed it while moving.

It was found by Elizabeth Gibson as she took her morning walk four years ago on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

It is now being sold by the widow of the original owner.

Gibson is receiving a reward. From the BBC.

Several years back several paintings of similar merit were taken from a prominent gallery in what appears to have been an inside job by low-level employees. They were reportedly offered for sale at the 26th Street flea market, and I believe most if not all were recovered. Nothing of this hit the papers at the time -- which is pretty typical of most such recoveries in the art and antiques world.

PS Another one of the exceptions that made the headlines: that Romanesque Limoges cross that was saved from the trash in Austria this summer.

Attack of the monkeys

The deputy mayor of the Indian capital Delhi has died a day after being attacked by a horde of wild monkeys.

SS Bajwa suffered serious head injuries when he fell from the first-floor terrace of his home on Saturday morning trying to fight off the monkeys.

The city has long struggled to counter its plague of monkeys, which invade government complexes and temples, snatch food and scare passers-by.

From the BBC.