CHRISTIE'S TO OFFER SPENCER ART COLLECTION ESTIMATED AT £30 MILLION

THE FAMILY OF DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES, WILL AUCTION A PAINTING BY FLEMISH MASTER PETER PAUL RUBENS AS PART OF A CLEAR-OUT SALE VALUED AT £30 MILLION DESIGNED TO ENSURE THE FINANCIAL FUTURE OF THE ALTHROP ESTATE. EARL SPENCER, DIANA'S BROTHER, IS HEAD OF THE ESTATE, AND PLANS TO MARRY FOR THE THIRD TIME LATER THIS YEAR, ACCORDING TO NEWS REPORTS. THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ALTHROP COLLECTION UP FOR BID, INCLUDE HISTORIC MASTERPIECES, FURNITURE, PORCELAINS AND HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGES ALONG WITH WORKS BY RUBENS AND THE 17th CENTURY ITALIAN MASTER IL GUERCINO. THE RUBENS, 'A COMMANDER BEING ARMED FOR BATTLE', WAS PAINTED IN 1613 OR 1614 AND IS EXPECTED TO FETCH £8-12 MILLION POUNDS. THE BEARDED MAN GAZING TOWARD THE VIEWER HAS BEEN NAMED BY SOME EXPERTS AS EMPEROR CHARLES V. THE PAINTING HAS BEEN AT THE LATE PRINCESS'S FAMILY HOME FOR MORE THAN 200 YEARS, AND WAS ORIGINALLY DESCRIBED AS THE 'SCHOOL OF RUBENS' IN THE 1802 INVENTORY. SINCE THEN IT HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED AS A RUBENS ORIGINAL BY LEADING SCHOLARS, CHRISTIE'S SAID. 'THIS MAGNIFICENT WORK BY RUBENS IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT WORKS BY THE ARTIST TO REMAIN IN PRIVATE HANDS IN THE UK', SAID A SPOKESPERSON FOR CHRISTIE'S. 'IT IS A MUSEUM QUALITY MASTERPIECE AND WILL HAVE INTERNATIONAL APPEAL', HE ADDED. ANOTHER WORK BU RUBENS, 'THE MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS', SOLD FOR £49 MILLION AT SOTHEBY'S IN LONDON IN 2002, A WORLD RECORD FOR AN OLD MASTER. ALSO BEING SOLD BY THE SPENCER FAMILY IS 'KING DAVID' BY BAROQUE ARTIST IL GUERCINO, WHICH WAS BOUGHT TO HANG IN THE GREAT ROOM AT THE SPENCER HOUSE IN LONDON. IT IS EXPECTED TO RAISE £5-8 MILLION WHEN BOTH WORKS GO UNDER THE HAMMER AS PART OF THE OLD MASTERS SALE IN LONDON ON 6.JULY. ALTHROP IS UNDERGOING A £10 MILLION RESTORATION, AND THE TRUSTEES OF THE ESTATE SAID THEY HAD DECIDED TO SELL ITEMS WHICH WERE 'NOT CORE' TO THE COLLECTION. 'THEIR AIM IS TO HELP THE ALTHROP ESTATE TO THRIVE FOR GENERATIONS TO COME', THE TRUSTEES SAID IN A STATEMENT. CHRISTIE'S MAIN RIVAL SOTHEBY'S ALSO ANNOUNCED AN IMPORTANT SALE LAST WEEK, WITH JMW TURNER'S 'MODERN ROME - CAMPO VACCINO' SET TO SELL FOR AN ESTIMATED £12-18 MILLION AT THEIR SALE IN LONDON ALSO ON 7.JULY.