Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/807528
2 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 5 APRIL 2017 News Preti piece purchased by Gozo ministry PAUL COCKS GOZO minister Anton Refalo has not yet answered MaltaToday's questions on the value of his art collection and whether he owns any Mattia Preto paintings. Instead, Refalo decided to speak about the controversial purchase of a Preti masterpiece by his ministry in parliament on Mon- day evening when he confirmed the purchase of the painting for €371,233 for the as-yet unopened Gozo Museum. He also claimed that he had the blessing of Heritage Malta and the finance ministry for the purchase of what is the second most expen- sive Preti painting in history. MaltaToday revealed last week that the ministry had purchased Preti's 'Daniel Interpreting Nebu- chadnezzar's Dream' in a So- theby's auction at Refalo's behest despite the ministry only had a budget of €50,000 for such acqui- sitions. Many experts are questioning the wisdom of the purchase and who was the previous owner of the painting. The painting – which according to a 2013 catalogue belonged to Collezione Nobili in Milan, Italy – had gone on sale for the same price some 17 years ago but was not purchased by anyone. Experts said this drove the paint- ing's price down from an estimate between €280,00 and €425,000 to between €190,000 and €280,000. However the Gozo ministry still decided to fork out €371,233, well above what Sotheby's was esti- mating to sell the painting for. Refalo claimed that the painting was bought for a fraction of what its " companion piece" sold for. However, Refalo omitted the fact that the painting he was making reference to - David playing the Harp before King Saul - is roughly 1 metre bigger. The painting sold for just over €2 million. Speaking in Parliament on Mon- day, Refalo said that – contrary to what opposition MP Chris Said had said – Heritage Malta had on- ly said it would not consider pur- chasing the painting because of the number of Mattia Preti works already in its collection. "But Heritage Malta agreed that the painting would suit the Gozo Museum well, especially since no Mattia Preti work had as yet been earmarked for the museum," he said. The minister said that Herit- age Malta had ultimately agreed that the ministry could bid up to a maximum of €350,000 for the painting, provided the ministry could guarantee its provenance and authenticity beforehand. The ministry of finance had signed off on the purchase as well, he said. Refalo said that even academic Keith Sciberras had attested to the piece's structure, composition and value. That came as no surprise to many in the industry, as Sciberras had already, in 2013, co-authored an official catalogue with contro- versial Italian art critic Vittorio Sgarbi on the occasion of a Preti exhibition held in Milan. Sotheby's themselves used ex- cerpts of that same 2013 exhibi- tion catalogue – 'Il Cavalier Cala- brese, Mattia Preti, tra Caravaggio e Luca Giordano', by Sciberras and Sgarbi, as reference in their online listing ahead of the auction. "We followed Heritage Malta's instructions and even managed Gozo minister Anton Refalo confirmed the painting's €371,000 price tag but claimed he had Heritage Malta's blessing Suspects detained at Mount Carmel for their own security CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The principle reason for the request was that there are two of the victim's family members cur- rently in prison, the lawyer ex- plained. The court upheld the request. Pace, 21, died in his sister's arms on Sunday night following a heated argument at the en- trance of his apartment during which he was allegedly stabbed multiple times by Kurt Grech. Kurt Grech, who f led the scene with his parents, was later apprehended by the police and taken to Mater Dei Hospital for injuries sustained during the argument. Police Inspectors Keith Ar- naud and Eliott Magro are lead- ing the prosecution. Lawyer Noel Bianco is appearing parte civile for the victim's heirs. Brandon Pace, 'Galalli', was killed on Sunday night Corpse recovered from sea off Marsascala, police not ruling out foul play THE body of a Serb man was recovered from the sea in Mar- sascala, the Police's communi- cations office said. The discovery was made yes- terday at about 11am, when the police was informed that a body was spotted floating in the sea in the area known as Il-Fajtata. An autopsy is expected to be carried out tomorrow to estab- lish whether the man was killed by a blow to his head or whether his injuries were caused by a fall. The man was brought ashore by members of the Rapid In- tervention Unit. Photos show a pool of blood on the rocks where the body was placed. According to reports, the man's personal belongings, in- cluding a mobile phone, were found nearby. A pool of blood was visible on the rocks where the body was placed after being recovered by the police