Amazing stories about how the world's masterpieces were bought for a song

In this issue you will find incredible stories of people who were lucky enough to purchase priceless works of art for mere pennies.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir's "Landscape on the banks of the Seine"

In 2009 some American bought at a regular flea market in Virginia the oil painting. The purchase cost her only $ 7. According to the women, she was more interested in not the canvas, beautiful frame. On the advice of her mother, she took the purchase in the auction house. The experts conducted a review and found that this is the original impressionist Auguste Renoir's "landscape on the banks of the Seine." The cost of painting was estimated at $ 75,000.

To the disappointment of the girl, it turned out that the painting was once stolen from the Museum, so reselling it would be illegal. This landscape in the style of impressionism came to the States in 1926, thanks to the art collector Herbert May. Then the canvas was exhibited in the Baltimore Museum of art, where it was stolen in 1951. In the end, 5 years later after a find at a flea market, in 2014, the picture was returned to the Museum.

Paul Gauguin "When's the wedding?"

During the life of Paul Gauguin, one of the classics of post-impressionism, was unknown. The artist barely making ends meet. In a letter to friends he wrote that he had no money even for a loaf of bread, so you have to eat only water and fruit, the benefit in the tropics where they lived, the fruit was in abundance.

The canvas of Paul Gauguin "When's the wedding?" was written in 1892 while living in Tahiti. At the beginning of the last century it was bought for a pittance collector Rudolf Steffi Lin. For half a century she belonged to his family, and was recently sold to the Qatari government organization Qatar Museums approximately $ 300 million. Thus, this painting became the most expensive in the world ever sold a work of art.

Faberge egg for $ 33 million

The American dealer who bought a gold item at an antique fair in the Midwest United States, was planning to melt it for scrap until I found out that his discovery — a rare fabergé egg, which was believed to be lost.

The entrepreneur bought the product for 14 thousand dollars and was intended to quickly resell it a little more expensive, because inside was a watch from Vacheron Constantin. But egg no one was interested. The businessman already had decided to melt it, but then in desperation I typed in the network search query: "egg", "Vacheron Constantin" (the inscription on the clock) — and soon came across an article the British newspaper the Telegraph, which tells about the Faberge eggs. Seeing the article with photos of jewellery, exactly-in-exactly similar to its purchase, the merchant rushed on the first plane to London to meet with the Director of the London antique gallery Wartski Kiranam McCarthy.

The egg was identified as one of the lost Imperial Easter eggs designed by Karl Faberge. It was one of the first creations of Faberge: Alexander III presented it to his wife Maria Feodorovna for Easter in 1887. During the October revolution of jewelry fell into the hands of the Bolsheviks, and on this his trail is lost.

Rumor has it that an egg was sold for $ 33 million to a private collector, and he's the lucky finds at the flea market chose to remain anonymous. Perhaps it's for the best: no wonder they say that happiness loves silence.

The nuptial crown of Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna

After the revolution the Bolsheviks were massively sold abroad for a song jewels of the Imperial house. At the end of 20 years they sold the crown diamonds literally pounds.

Reminiscent of Russian kokoshnik diamond diadem "Russian beauty" with pearl pendants that Nicholas I in 1841, ordered personally for his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, was sold in 1927 only for 310 pounds. In this part of this unique jewelry made of platinum consisted of 1535 old-mine cut diamonds, 25 large teardrop gems, but its real value is, of course, made millions.

The United States Declaration of independence

In 1989 a man for $ 4 I bought a Declaration of independence in the frame. Buying for that price at a flea market in Pennsylvania, of course, meant that it is a copy of a historical document. But in the end it turned out that it was a genuine Declaration.

In a historic night of July 4, 1776 was published 200 copies of the Declaration, of which up to now have remained only 25. Bought at a flea market the original copy went under the hammer at Sotheby's in 1990 for 2.45 million dollars.