Rare 19th century painting found in Norfolk home sells for £160k

The artwork, depicting the Pantheon in Rome, was bought by Major H Mosse of Mendham Priory, Harleston in 1965 .

It had hung largely unnoticed for 60 years and only garnered attention when the home was being packed up when it was discovered it was by the 19th century French artist, Jean Victor Louis Faure.

The piece went up for auction last month and achieved a closing bid of £160,000, beating its original valuation by over £100,000.

The oil-on-canvas painting, which is 1.21 metres by 1.72 metres in size, was expected to be highly sought after by collectors around the world as artwork from 19th century painter Faure rarely appears at auction.

The 19th century painting by Jean Victor Louis Faure is of the pantheon in Rome, titled Market Day, The Pantheon, Rome (Image: Dreweatts)

Speaking after the discovery of its value, Major H Mosse’s son said: “My earliest recollection of this picture was the prominent position it occupied in the hallway of the family home for nearly 60 years, where it witnessed the comings and goings of family life, the many great friends who visited and even a wedding reception.

"“For the most part it was just seen as an impressive picture occupying a large wall space with the occasional glance to acknowledge its existence.

“It wasn’t until the end, when the house was cleared and the only item left was the picture still hanging on the wall in its same prominent position, which stood out even more so now.

“This piqued my interest to find out a little bit more about the artist Jean Victor Louis Faure, as obviously, I had never thought of asking my parents during their lifetime anything about the picture.

"Surprisingly, this has turned out to be an important re-discovery of this impressive picture that I had grown up with."

The painting went under the hammer at a sale of Old Master, British and European Art at Dreweatts on May 26.