Fellow appraiser Cindy Charleston Rosenberg sent me an interesting article from the UK's Daily Mail about the bidding and subsequent trade of Leondardo Da Vinci's Salator Mundi for a mega yacht, said to also be valued at $450 million.
The mail reports two Princes sent representatives to bid on the painting, one from Saudi Arabia the other from United Arab Emirates. The two bidders, and allies thought they were bidding against the Qatari ruling family, according to the article rials of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and the bidding hit $450 million. And if correct, certainly an outlier in value, as according to the article the painting was previously offered to the Quattari's for $80 million and some think that is closer to the real value of the work. Later due to pressure on the purchase the record setting painting it was swapped for a mega yacht, the Topaz.
The Daily Mail report
Source: Daily Mail
- Leonardo Da Vinci's 'Salvator Mundi' sold at an auction last November for a record-breaking $405.3million
- It was later revealed the painting's buyer was Saudi Prince Bader bin Abdullah
- Palace insiders said the purchase was on behalf of the country's crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman, whose regime was criticized for the purchase
- De-facto United Arab Emirates ruler Mohammed Bin Zayed also sent a representative to bid on the painting at the Christie's New York auction
- Neither knew the other was bidding, instead they both feared losing the auction to reps from the Qatari ruling family - fierce rivals of UAE and Saudi Arabia
- Qatar's ruling family was offered the painting just a year earlier for $80 million
- Salman's $450 million purchase was condemned by critics of his regime
After facing criticism, he struck a deal with his Emirati counterpart to swap the painting for a superyacht also worth $450 million
Two Arab princes accidentally cost themselves $450 million in an anonymous bidding war over a Da Vinci painting - because each thought the other was their rival Qatar, according to palace sources.
Leonardo Da Vinci's 'Salvator Mundi' sold at an auction last November for an eye-watering $450.3 million.
Documents leaked to the New York Times the following month revealed the buyer was Saudi Prince Bader bin Abdullah.
Palace insiders said the purchase was on behalf of his close friend, the country's crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
But neither Arab ruler knew the other was bidding, instead they both feared losing the auction to reps from the Qatari ruling family.
Qatar is fierce Gulf rivals of Saudi Arabia and the UAE and its ruling family is well-known for its interest in high end art.
'The bidding started to get high, and each of them thought they were bidding against the Qataris, and didn't want them to get it,' said one source close to the Emirati leader.
'So they gave their proxies instructions, saying 'you can go as high as you want, just make sure you get it'.
'It got to $450 million and the Emiratis gave up. Then s**t hit the fan when the record came out.
'MBZ [Mohammed Bin Zayed] told Salman: "That was us bidding for it, why didn't you tell me?"'
The Emirati palace source revealed a further twist that heightened the costly bungle.
'The Qataris were offered that painting one year before for just $80 million, and that's more in the ball park of what it's really worth,' said the source.
'But they looked at it, and they felt it was too Christian for their collection, so they declined… The Saudis paid way, way too much for it.'
Had the seller, Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, made the sale to the Qataris he would have sustained a significant loss, having reportedly paid Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier $127.5 million for the canvas in 2013.
As it happened, the Russian tycoon turned a profit of a cool $322.8 million.
Salman's $450 million purchase was condemned by critics of his regime.
It came during a time when the Saudi government had implemented austerity measures due to the country's ailing economy, and the crown prince was conducting a corruption crackdown, arresting family members over their alleged profligate self-enrichment.
Under pressure to save face and get the now politically toxic painting off his hands, sources said the crown prince struck a deal with his Emirati counterpart to swap the painting for a superyacht.
'They came up with this idea. MBZ had a yacht, it's called the Topaz, and it was valued at $450 million, exactly what MBS [Mohammed Bin Salman] paid for the painting. So they did a swap.,' the source said.
'MBS signed the Da Vinci over to the UAE Ministry of Culture so it could go to the museum, and he got the yacht.'
A week after the auction the Emirati government announced the new addition to its collection in the Louvre Abu Dhabi, much to the surprise of art fans around the world.
Another source close to Salman confirmed that both princes had bid on the painting, and corroborated details of the swap for the yacht.
The deal, which was made in secret between the Saudi and Emirati princes, left Salman with a total of three giant and opulent pleasure boats.
He already owned one superyacht called The Serene, bought in 2014 from another Russian billionaire, vodka tycoon Yuri Shefler.
Salman is said to have spotted the 440ft vessel while vacationing in the south of France, and immediately offered Shefler $550 million for it.
Within hours the deal was done, and the Russian moved off the boat by the next day.
At the time the yacht was one of the world's three biggest according to Forbes Magazine, boasting 15 rooms, a nightclub, cinema, climbing wall, seawater swimming pool, library, health spa, underwater viewing room, gym and two hot tubs.
The ship came equipped with two helipads, a helicopter hangar, a submarine hangar and multiple swimming pools.
In June the same year the Saudi crown prince purchased a yacht now valued at $125 million from Californian investor Ronald Tutor, a former business partner of President Donald Trump's close friend Tom Barrack.
Tutor told the New York Times the Yacht, named Pegasus VIII by Salman, cost about $60 million.
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