Much of a muchness

Met up with an old friend today and went to Duke’s Fine Art Sale room in Dorchester. It was a big day as they were auctioning a pair of panels – images of saints painted 500 years ago by Fra Angelico. The two small panels each one painted using tempera on a gold ground and measuring only 15.5 x 5 inches, have been missing, presumed lost for a long time until they were discovered in the bedroom of a house in Oxford last year. They are the last two remaining pieces of a much larger work – an altarpiece for the church of San Marco in Florence. They were bought by the owner 40 years ago for £200. Today, amidst great excitement, they sold for £1.7 million – nice!