The Lost Masterpieces: A Valuation of Ten Lost Works of Art
In 2013 we were asked to value ten of the world’s most famous lost works of art, as if they were to resurface today. Our valuations were published in The Times.
The ten works below were stolen, looted, destroyed by war or fire, or simply lost to time. Valuing them meant drawing on prices paid for comparable works, the importance of each artist, and what is known about each piece from copies, sketches and early descriptions. Together they came to almost £580 million.
1. Phidias, Athena Parthenos, 438 BC
A statue of the goddess Athena around 12 metres high, made of wood, ivory and more than a ton of gold, which stood at the centre of the Parthenon in Athens. Its fate is uncertain. It was probably removed from Athens in late antiquity and is thought to have been lost by the 10th century. It is known today only from smaller ancient copies.
Our 2013 valuation: £100,000,000
2. Lysippos, Hercules, 4th century BC
A bronze of Hercules by Lysippos, sculptor to Alexander the Great. The original is lost and is known today through Roman marble copies, the most famous being the Farnese Hercules in Naples.
Our 2013 valuation: £50,000,000
3. Leonardo da Vinci, the Sforza Horse
Leonardo’s horse for the Duke of Milan was to be the largest equestrian statue in the world, over seven metres high. He made extensive preparatory studies but produced only a full-size clay model, which was destroyed by French soldiers when they invaded Milan in 1499.
Our 2013 valuation: £40,000,000
4. Giorgione and Titian, Frescoes on the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, Venice, 1508
The two young masters painted the façades of the German merchants’ headquarters on the Grand Canal. The salty, humid air of the lagoon destroyed them almost entirely, and only a few fragments survive, now in the Ca’ d’Oro in Venice.
Our 2013 valuation: £100,000,000
5. The Amber Room, 18th century
Known as the eighth wonder of the world, the Amber Room at the Catherine Palace near St Petersburg was made from around six tons of amber backed with gold leaf and mirrors. It was looted by German forces in 1941 and taken to Königsberg, and its whereabouts were lost in the chaos at the end of the Second World War. A reconstruction was completed in 2003.
Our 2013 valuation: £200,000,000
6. Henry Moore, Reclining Figure, 1969 to 1970
A two-ton bronze by Henry Moore, stolen from the Henry Moore Foundation at Perry Green, Hertfordshire, in 2005 and believed to have been melted down for scrap.
Our 2013 valuation: £10,000,000
7. Caravaggio, The Nativity with Saint Francis and Saint Lawrence, 1609
Stolen in 1969 from the Oratory of San Lorenzo in Palermo, where it hung unguarded. The theft is widely believed to have been the work of the Mafia, and the painting has never been recovered.
Our 2013 valuation: £12,000,000
8. Rogier van der Weyden, The Justice of Trajan and Herkinbald
The city of Brussels commissioned van der Weyden to paint four large panels for the Town Hall illustrating the Justice of Trajan and the Justice of Herkinbald. They were destroyed when the French bombarded the city in 1695, and are known today from a tapestry copy.
Our 2013 valuation: £30,000,000
9. Caravaggio, Portrait of a Courtesan, 1597 to 1599
Formerly in the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum in Berlin, the painting is believed to have been destroyed in 1945 in the Friedrichshain flak tower, where it had been stored for safety during the war.
Our 2013 valuation: £6,000,000
10. Michelangelo, Sleeping Cupid, 1496
The Cupid helped establish the reputation of the young Michelangelo, then about 20 years old. It is thought to have been destroyed in the great fire at the Palace of Whitehall in London in 1698.
Our 2013 valuation: £30,000,000
Why value what cannot be sold?
The exercise is a reminder that works of art are fragile, and that theft, fire and war still claim important pieces today. Accurate, up-to-date valuations, good records and photographs make all the difference if the worst happens.
Coram James values art and antiques for insurance, probate, divorce and sale. Call 020 7305 7360 or contact us.
First published in October 2013. Values are as given in 2013.
