Government bans early work of Botticelli from being exported out of UK – UK Times

The government has banned a Botticelli painting worth more than £10m from being exported outside the UK.

The Virgin and Child Enthroned, painted by the Italian master Sandro Botticelli in the 15th century, is at risk of leaving the country after it was sold by Sotheby’s London last December for £9.7m.

The UK government has now placed a temporary export bar on the work, which has been valued at £10.2m.

The order will prevent it from leaving the UK until 8 August and allow time for a UK gallery or institution to acquire the painting for a British collection.

The painting depicts an image of the Virgin Mary sitting on a throne with the child of Christ. It is believed to have been painted in the 1470s, early in Botticelli’s career.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said if saved, the painting would represent a significant addition to the body of work by Botticelli, best known for his painting The Birth of Venus, in UK collections.

open image in gallery

It added: “Very few early Botticellis remain in the UK and it would provide a richer and more detailed understanding of his work and the development of Florentine painting in the later fifteenth century.”

Christopher Baker, a member of the reviewing committee on the export of works of art and objects of cultural interest, which advises the government, said: “Dating from the early 1470s, this affecting devotional work demonstrates the sophistication of Botticelli’s painting early in his career in Florence.

“Probably intended to inspire private prayer in a domestic setting, it is an image that has a wider resonance as it delicately explores the power of maternal love.”

According to Sotheby’s, the painting was housed in the Convent of San Giuliano in Florence in the early 19th century and was later taken to a small chapel attached to a group of farmhouses near the village of Vaggio.

It was then inherited by the owners of the property, who then sold it to an art dealer in 1903.

open image in gallery

It was then purchased by Lady Wantage in 1904, and the painting remained in the same family collection until the present day.

“The cult of, or enthusiasm for Botticelli, of which it formed a part, had grown during the Victorian era and the painting arrived in Britain in 1904; it was acquired by Lady Wantage and entered the renowned Lloyd collection,” Mr Baker added.

“Further research on the placement of Botticelli’s work in his career and the organisation of his workshop, as well as links with the wider context of Florentine Renaissance art would all be of enormous benefit.

“In view of these intriguing possibilities every effort should be made to try and secure this beguiling painting for a British collection.”