A British Sikh taxi driver in London is celebrating after a painting he bought at a car-boot sale for £40 sold for more than £92,000.
The canny London cabbie even drove down the £60 asking price for the Indian work of art by £20 before taking it home 30 years ago.
The 2ft 10ins by 23ins work hung on a wall in his home until he decided to redecorate.
He took the work to an auction house, where it was identified as a 19th Century painting of an Indian town scene – and valued at £500. But interest in it took off after bidders realised it depicted the historic town of Amritsar, in North India, with the Golden Temple – the holiest religious building of the Sikh religion – in the background.
The artist is believed to have been painter Baba Bishan Singh, who came from a family of painters responsible for maintaining the murals and motifs on the walls of the Golden Temple.
The artist is even depicted in the bustling scene and is seen painting a portrait in an alcove of a building, which drove up interest further.
It sold for £75,000, with fees bringing it to £92,250.
Roseberys Auctioneers, in South East London, said: “When we called the vendor to give him the news, he was over the moon.His taxi was off-road at the time with a flat tyre.”
source:mirror