Pietro Lorenzetti panels fetch record prices at Tajan Paris auction

On December 13, 2023, Tajan auction house in Paris achieved record prices for two rediscovered panels by Sienese Trecento painter Pietro Lorenzetti (c. 1280/85–c. 1348). The works, depicting Pope Sylvester I and Saint Helena, were likely part of a dismembered altarpiece. Estimated at €1.5–2 million and €400,000–€600,000 respectively, they sold for €3 million and €1.6 million, becoming the second and third highest auction results for Lorenzetti, behind Christ between Saints Paul and Peter (Christie's London, 2012, £5 million). The price difference is due to conservation conditions. The panels were rediscovered by art detective Eric Turquin of Cabinet Turquin, who has a track record of finding 'sleepers'—lost or misattributed masterpieces—including Caravaggio's Judith and Holofernes (2019) and a Cimabue work now at the Louvre. Turquin was contacted by descendants of the last owner, magistrate and collector Alfred Ramé, who acquired the panels in 1860. The buyer is reportedly an American contemporary art collector and loyal Tajan client.