The United Kingdom has imposed a temporary export bar on Sandro Botticelli's painting "The Virgin and Child Enthroned" (c. 1470), valued at £10.2 million ($13.5 million). The work was sold to a foreign buyer at Sotheby's London last fall for £8.6 million, but the export license deferral—recommended by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art—gives British institutions until August 8 to express interest in acquiring it. The painting, previously attributed to Botticelli's workshop, was confirmed as an autograph work through new scientific analyses and has been in the private collection of Lady Wantage since 1904.
This export bar matters because it highlights the UK's ongoing efforts to retain culturally significant artworks for public collections, particularly rare early works by Old Masters. The painting's confirmed attribution to Botticelli and its link to the Sant'Ambrogio altarpiece make it a valuable resource for studying Florentine Renaissance art. If acquired by a British institution, it would fill a gap in public collections of Botticelli's early career. The case also reflects broader tensions around cultural heritage protection, especially as the Department for Culture, Media and Sport faces potential abolition under the current government.