An Old Master painting - discovered gathering dust beneath a garage workbench - has sold for more than half a million pounds at an auction house in Banbury.

In a spirited bidding battle at JS Fine Art auctioneers, auctioneers said the sale was reminiscent of a “Lesser Watch” moment from Only Fools and Horses, with the painting depicting the Madonna and Child finally selling for £685,000.

The painting had drawn intense national and international interest after being catalogued by JS Fine Art as an “Italian Old Master”. Believed to be by Pietro Vannucci, known as Perugino (1450–1523), the master of Raphael, the work captivated bidders online, by phone, and in the auction room for an unprecedented 15-minute contest.

“It was one of those moments every auctioneer dreams of,” said Joe Smith, founder and principal auctioneer at JS Fine Art.

The painting depicting the Madonna and Child finally went for £685,000.

placeholder image — The painting depicting the Madonna and Child finally went for £685,000.

“We knew it was special, but the response was beyond anything we expected. The longer you looked, the more you realised the quality of the workmanship and the elegance of the Renaissance detailing.

The sale shattered JS Fine Art’s previous house record of £265,000 for a painting by Eric Ravilious, and the auctioners said the sale has helped “reaffirm its growing reputation as one of the most discerning regional auction houses in the Home Counties”.

“When the hammer fell, there was a hush — then applause,” Smith recalled. “It was a moment that marked a new chapter for our firm and, I think, for Oxfordshire’s place on the fine art map.”

The painting was purchased by a private collector, whose identity remains undisclosed, and taken to a fine art conservator.