Polish government purchases art valued at £1.7bn for a mere £85m

Works sold by the descendants of Princess Izabela Czartoryska, who started her collection in 1802

The Lady with an Ermine painting on display in Poland in 2012 (Agencja Gazeta/Reuters)

The Polish government has signed a deal to buy a world-famous art collection for a fraction of its estimated value.

The collection has been acquired by the Polish Culture Ministry for just €100m (£85m) from the Czartoryski family – despite its estimated worth of €1.9bn (£1.7bn) – in a bid to ensure the works could be enjoyed by future generations of Poles.

It includes some 86,000 objects, such as Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt’s Landscape with the Good Samaritan, and a further 250,000 books and other library items which have been house in the private Czartoryski Museum in Krakow.

The collection was started by Princess Izabela Czartoryska in 1802 and has been managed by her descendants through the Czartoryska Foundation ever since.

The deal was brokered by her descendant, Adam Karol Czartoryski, who said it was a “donation”, but the head of the board of the foundation resigned in protest.

The board of management said it did not object to the sale in principle but said it had been carried out without due diligence – which includes getting a fair estimate of the paintings worth – and may be illegal under its bylaws.

Mr Czartoryski told the BBC his ancestors had “always worked for the Polish nation” and he was merely following in his footsteps.

“I felt like making a donation and that’s my choice”, he added.

The sale was part of a scheme by Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party (PS) to nationalise important businesses and culture to emphasise its call for greater national pride.

The arch-conservative government has focused on nationalism and Euroscepticism since its return to power last year.

The da Vinci work, completed in 1490, is one of only four portraits of women – including the famous Mona Lisa – done by the Italian artist.

It depicts Cecilia Gallerani, a young mistress of the Duke of Milan, who was nicknamed “the white ermine” – which is why she is holding the animal in portrait.

The painting was stolen from Poland by the Nazis during the Second World War but later restored to the family.

Additional reporting by agencies