A 500-YEAR-OLD engraving found by a boy at a rubbish dump could fetch thousands of pounds at an auction in Lichfield.
The Germain Renaissance piece Knight, Death and the
Devil by painter and printmaker Albrecht Dürer is expected to fetch between £10,000 and £20,000 when it is sold at Rare Book Auctions on 18th September.
The piece was rescued by Mat Winter from Kent when he was a youngster. The 24-year-old said:
“I’ve had an eye for antiques since I was ten. I used to go to the local rubbish tip to see what I could find. I discovered some great stuff.
“One day a lady had some rubbish in her car, including the print. I thought it looked interesting and asked if I could have it. She was more then happy to give it to me because she wanted it to go to someone rather than just throwing it away. I was 11 at the time and very happy she let me take it.
“It’s been tucked away in a cupboard at home with all my other antique finds for the last 13 years. Recently, I decided to get it checked out to see if it was as special as it looked.
“I was amazed to find out it was.”
Jim Spencer, director of Rare Book Auctions, said efforts had been extensive to verify the engraving.
“I’ve seen countless prints copying Dürer, from a much later period or produced by a different means, but I’d only ever seen the real thing in museums – until now.
“I didn’t have high expectations when the owner described how he’d rescued it from someone’s car boot at his local rubbish dump around ten years ago. But I opened the package, removed the bubble wrap and staggered back in awe.
“The quality of the engraving was exceptional beyond words. I knew that only one person could’ve produced something like this – it had to be the hand of Dürer himself.
“We spoke with the British Museum, where a research fellow from the United States assisted us with viewing the engravings and comparing their examples with ours. With a magnifying glass, we were able to check that every minuscule line matched perfectly.”
Despite the estimate, Jim said the eventual sale price could go even higher.
“We’re guiding conservatively at £10,000 to £20,000 – but it could easily spark a determined bidding battle.”