Expensive Dating Mistake: Italian Ministry of Culture confuses a 3 with an 8
The Italian Ministry of Culture has made a costly appraisal blunder. A Madonna and Child painting by an anonymous master from the Emilia-Romagna region was originally dated more recent than it actually is.
Experts of the Italian ministry of culture dated the painting to 1850, but following a recent restoration, it was revealed to date back to 1350.
As a result, the artwork's value is considerably higher than initially thought. While originally appraised at around €38,000, international experts now project its true value to be well over half a million euros, according to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
In 2020, the Italian ministry granted an export permit to move the painting to Switzerland. The permit was approved because experts deemed the artwork to be of "little historical importance." Evaluators were misled by an inscription on the back of the piece, which read: painted by Alfonso Martorelli Fiori, Bologna, 1850.
However, during restoration, specialists discovered that the "8" in the year 1850 was actually a "3," meaning the piece was painted centuries earlier by an unknown artist known as the "Master of 1302." The auction house Christie's has since estimated its actual value to be between €300,000 and €580,000.
Italy attempted to recover the artwork through the legal system but was unsuccessful. On appeal, the court ruled against the Italian government, noting that authorities acted too late. The government waited until 2023 to attempt to revoke the export permit it had issued back in 2020.