$125 Million Portrait of Cellini Sold to Saudis by Tamoikin Art Fund
Antique 16th century self-portrait by Benvenuto Cellini is purchased by Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from the Tamoikin Art Fund.
- (1888PressRelease) June 29, 2019 - Fine Art Press reports that the “only known self-portrait of Benvenuto Cellini (1500 – 1571), a famous Italian goldsmith, sculptor, draftsman, soldier, and musician” who rivaled Leonardo Da Vinci, was recently sold to Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
It is reported that the transaction was settled privately between the Saudi Royal Family and the Tamoikin Art Fund, which was appointed as custodian of this historic artwork in July, 2018. The sale price of $125 million (€107 million) has not been independently verified but that’s the official appraised value of Benvenuto Cellini’s self-portrait.
The Crown Prince, who also purchased Da Vinci's “Salvator Mundi” for $450 million, is known for such acquisitions. As with other Saudi high-end purchases, it is expected that more information will be released about this sale in the following months.
The Tamoikin Art Fund, a Canadian-based organization with close ties to Russian and Eastern European wealthy elites, has not commented or made any public statements about this transaction. They gained notoriety in the art world in 2008 after selling a Russian religious icon named “The Solovetsky Iconostasis” for $5 million. Since then, the Tamoikin family has been involved in numerous private multimillion art sales, many of which were later disclosed to the public by investigative journalists.
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