Overview

• The mixed-media illustration, titled Vecchio Sultano, was authenticated in May 2025 by Dalí expert Nicolas Descharnes as a genuine work from 1966.
• Cambridgeshire auctioneers Cheffins will offer the drawing on October 23, 2025, with a pre-sale estimate of £20,000–£30,000.
• Stickers on the back revealed it had been listed at Sotheby’s in the 1990s before its provenance went unrecognized.
• Vecchio Sultano is one of only 100 illustrations Dalí completed for a planned 500-piece Arabian Nights series, half of which were later lost or damaged.
• After selling for just £150 in 2023, the rediscovery underscores how modest finds can fill gaps in art history and shift market valuations.