EXETER, UK / AGILITYPR.NEWS / June 26, 2026 / Cusco School c.1700 picture owned by Sicilian and Maltese nobles the Messinas expected to fetch up to £50,000 at Sloane Street Auctions on July 15

A rare early religious painting, owned by the same family for over two centuries, comes for sale for the first time at Sloane Street Auctions of July 15.

The Black Madonna and Child, a product of the Peruvian Cusco School, has been the property of the Messina family since the 18^th century. Sicilian nobles thought to have been part of the Norman conquest of the island around 1,000 years ago, they owned the Messina Palace in Palermo.

The family itself, however, were driven into exile in Malta after Count Giovanni Messina (d.1800) was executed in Catanzo during the purge of the Neapolitan nobility which followed the revolutions in Naples after the Bonaparte successes in Italy. He would have been a target because his family supported the Bourbon rule of Sicily from Naples as part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

The painting passed down through the family and was owned by Count Rosario Messina (1796-1875), a wealthy merchant in Malta, and then his daughter Concetta Messina, who married Harman Grisewood (1855-1935) in 1875. Their grandson was Harman Grisewood (1906-97), a key figure in the BBC and founder of The Third Programme, who has an actor in early days performed alongside the theatrical and film greats Peggy Ashcroft, John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson.

“This extraordinarily rare depiction of the black Madonna and Child from circa 1700 merges cultural iconography of the European Catholic Church and pre-Hispanic Andean culture,” said Daniel Hunt, owner of Sloane Street Auctions.

“Created in the 17th century, introducing local humanity to the formal religious representation, here we have the local artists of Peru merging European iconography with Andean aesthetic.

“Equally extraordinary is its unbroken history in the same family for around 250 years or more, meaning it has never appeared for sale before.”

The unframed 32 x 22 in oil on canvas has an estimate of £20,000-£50,000.

Live online bidding is available via Sloane Street Auctions’ website at www.sloanestreetauctions.com

For further information contact info@lucasfieldmedia.com Tel 07968 952850

Image courtesy of Sloane Street Auctions

Caption:

The Black Madonna and Child, Cusco School c.1700. Owned by the Messina/Grisewood family since the 18^th century, it comes to Sloane Street Auctions for sale in London for the first time on July 15. The estimate is £20,000-£50,000.