article: A tiny oil painting that was kept in an attic for years and thought to be worth just £300 has now sold for more than £120,000 at auction. The oil painting - which measures nine inches by seven - of a Catholic saint was believed to be the work of a 'follower' of 16th century renaissance master El Greco. But the selling price suggests the untitled, undated and unsigned painting may actually have been done by the artist himself. Auctioneer Richard Bromell (pictured) gave the tiny painting an estimated value of about £300 to £400 but it ended up selling for more than £120,000 . It was acquired by the owner's late father in the 1970s for very little. He bought it because he believed it was a depiction of Saint Peter, who shares his name. And it was inherited by his son, who has not been named, who kept it in his loft for the past eight years before deciding to sell it following a clear-out. Auctioneer Richard Bromell, of Charterhouse Auctioneers of Sherborne, Dorset, gave the work an estimated value of between £300 and £400. But after advertising the sale, interest in the work took off. And feverish bidding, final hammer price was £98,000 and came to £120,932 with all the fees added on. Mr Bromell said: 'I rung the client after the sale and just told him it sold for ninety-eight. He asked 'what pounds?' And I told him it was £98,000. 'He said he needed to sit down. When he came down off the ceiling he was very, very pleased. I think if he had been offered £500 for it before the auction he would have snapped your hand off.' The oil painting (right) was believed to have been the work of a follower of 16th century renaissance master El Greco (left) but the selling price suggests it may have been done by the artist himself . Mr Bromell explained it was very difficult to judge the painting. He said: 'We described it as by a follower of El Greco because that is what it looked like and I still think that to be the case. 'It was a very interesting picture and very hard to value. 'If you asked three people the question 'how much is it worth?' you would get three different answers. One reputable gallery stopped bidding at £10,000 because that was how much they were prepared to pay for it. 'Obviously as least two people thought it was worth the money because the bidding just went up and up. 'We must have advertised it well because all the right people attended the sale. On the day of the sale I thought it might go for a few thousand pounds so we were obviously delighted with the outcome. 'People play their cards very close to their chest at these things and the person who bought it came in and was only interested in this item and nothing else.'
highlights: Auctioneer gave painting an estimated value of between £300 and £400 .
  It was thought to be the work of a follower of renaissance master El Greco .
  But final price suggests unsigned work may have been done by the artist .
  Painting of saint was acquired by owner's father in the 1970s for very little .
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