The oil painting, The Adoration of The Kings, was estimated to be worth between 10,600 and 15,900 dollars when it was offered for sale in Amsterdam by Christie's in 2021, attributed to someone from Rembrandt's circle.
However, UK collector Sotheby's identified the work as a genuine Rembrandt at an auction in December last year, and the price rose to $13.8 million just two years after the last sale.
Experts used X-ray analysis and infrared imaging and consulted several leading Rembrandt scholars during an exhaustive 20-month examination.
Some bidders were not convinced and no one bid at the auction on December 6. However, the painting was backed by a secret guarantor at a price of $13.8 million.
The buyer had agreed to pay the price before the auction in December, which meant that they would receive the painting unless a higher bid came in.
According to Sotheby's 62-page catalog, the small-scale painting first came to light in 1955 when it was acquired by J.C.H. Heldring in Amsterdam.
