Albrecht Dürer work ‘found at tip’ sells at auction for £26,500

A 500-year-old engraving by Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer, which is alleged to have been discovered at a tip, has offered at public sale for £26,500.

Mat Winter, from Cranbrook, Kent, mentioned he found the art work when he was 11 and was unaware of its worth till he took it to a specialist as an grownup.

The engraving – titled Knight, Dying and the Satan and signed and dated 1513 – was offered in a web based public sale by Uncommon Guide Auctions on Wednesday.

Jim Spencer, director of the public sale home, in Lichfield, Staffordshire, mentioned there had been curiosity within the engraving “from all around the world” and the profitable bidder was a personal collector in Germany.

“I suppose you may say this German Renaissance print goes residence,” he added.

Together with a purchaser’s premium, the bidder paid £33,390 for the engraving, which had been listed with a information value vary of £10,000-£20,000.

Mr Winter has been contacted for remark following the sale.

Talking earlier than the public sale, Mr Winter mentioned he noticed the work at the back of a lady’s automotive whereas on the garbage dump as a toddler, and requested her if he may take it.

“It’s received a lot element to it, and one thing informed me that’s price one thing however I by no means actually knew what,” he mentioned.

Mr Spencer mentioned the sale was “an ideal finish to a narrative that began with Mat Winter rescuing this from landfill”.

“The ultimate result’s testomony to the enduring significance of Albrecht Dürer,” he added.

“All people is basically happy with the end result.”

Dürer, born in 1471, was a serious painter and printmaker who launched Renaissance artwork to Germany and northern Europe.