The 50 x 33cm rare watercolour painting by Edward Caruana Dingli was auctioned off for nearly €6,000 in the UK.

A never before seen watercolour by one of Malta’s most famous painters, Edward Caruana Dingli, sold for nearly €6,000 at an auction by Bearnes Hampton and Littlewood in the UK.

The previously unknown piece portrays a woman washing at a kitchen door and is dated 1910.

It did not feature in the 2010 exhibition of Caruana Dingli works mounted by the Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti or in the publication from that exhibition.

Its original presale estimate was of between €561 and €842. It sold for £4,200 (€5,880) at the auction in Exeter.

Caruana Dingli was already quite established in 1910 and the style in this case is typical of the folkloric themes which he became renowned for. There are other well-known works from this period, painted in his inimitable manner of depicting the colour and mood of Maltese life.

The charming painting captures Maltese rural life in the early 20th century: noticeable elements include il-banju taż-żingu (a zinc tub) and the rolled-up ħasira (curtain made of reeds), which suggests that the scene depicted was early in the day, before the sun intensified yet allowing enough time for the wash to dry.

Also visible in the painting is the chicken coop and the typical old Maltese chair, similar to those which used to be found in churches.

Also visible in the painting is the chicken coop and the typical old Maltese chair

Caruana Dingli (1876-1950) painted portraits of the likes of Sir Joseph Howard, Sir Ugo Mifsud, Lord Gerald Strickland, Sir Temi Zammit, Sir Luigi Preziosi, Dun Karm Psaila, Mgr Michael Gonzi, Edmund Schreiber, Giuseppe Calì, King George V and King Edward VIII.

In December, an oil painting by the artist, this time a portrait of his mistress, Olga Galea Naudi, née Barbora, was auctioned off for €3,826 by Bonhams.

After separating from his wife, Charlotte, in 1913, Caruana Dingli began a scandalous relationship with Olga, the wife of ex-military man Carlo Galea Naudi, which was to last a large part of his life.

It was at this time that Caruana Dingli decided to fully devote his life to art, building a successful career and becoming, in Malta, the most prominent, sought-after portrait painter of his time.