A 15th-century Flemish triptych that has hung in a Dorset almshouse chapel for centuries has been valued at up to £3.5 million, prompting its sale to fund social housing. The artwork, depicting the five miracles of Christ, was analysed by experts at Sotheby's using scientific methods including dendrochronology and infrared reflectography.
Researchers concluded the triptych was made from East Baltic oak between 1480 and 1490 in Brussels by an unknown Flemish artist. The 8ft wide, 3ft high oil and gold on panel piece had been housed at the Almshouse of Saint John the Evangelist and John the Baptist in Sherborne since before the Reformation.
Trustees decided to sell the altarpiece after determining they could not afford the insurance and security costs. Proceeds will support projects to fund social housing in the Dorset market town, with the potential to finance six new accommodation units if the triptych meets its auction estimate.
Mike Burks, one of the almshouse trustees, said: 'We knew it was valuable, but there was quite a lot of debate about its value.' The almshouse received its royal charter from King Henry VI in 1437, with the chapel completed in 1442.
A Sotheby's spokesperson noted the triptych's remarkable survival, having been concealed during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation and never leaving the almshouse. 'Its survival is of considerable rarity, for few such works have survived both the Dissolution and the Puritan Iconoclasm of the following century,' they said.
