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Sheikh who entertained Queen sues gallery over ‘forged’ mosaics

Rex Features
Rex Features

A member of the Qatari royal family has accused an art gallery of selling two mosaics worth almost £300,000 which later allegedly turned out to be fakes.

His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Abdullah Al Thani is locked in a High Court dispute with Ariadne Galleries over the two sales which date back to December 2013 and July 2014.

Legal papers lodged reveal the art firm — which has galleries in Mayfair and New York — is being sued for alleged breach of contract and misrepresentation over the sales.

The claim concerns the sale of mosaics named Cupids At The Grape Harvest and Eros Hunting With A Stag.

The writ states: “Both mosaics are inauthentic and/or forgeries. They were purchased for $200,000 and $150,000 respectively, equating to a total purchase price of $350,000.”

The sheikh, a cousin of the Emir of Qatar, is a prodigious art collector and chief executive of the Qatar Investment and Projects Development Holding Company (Qipco). His family’s base in London is Dudley House in Park Lane, where they have played host to the Queen and Prince Charles.

The sheikh has spoken in the past of lovingly restoring the £200 million home over six years with antiques and artworks, while the Al Thani Collection boasts more than 6,000 works of art which go on show at major museums and galleries around the world.

The Queen has allowed Sheikh Hamad’s company, which he founded with his five brothers in 1999, to be the first commercial sponsor of Royal Ascot in the event’s history. The legal challenge to Ariadne Galleries is being brought primarily by Qipco, with the sheikh as a second claimant.

The legal claim, originally filed last December and amended in April, is for repayment of $350,000 (£280,000) from the gallery group, as well as interest and costs.

Paperwork has been made public by the High Court, but a full explanation of the claim has not yet been lodged.

Ariadne Galleries Inc, which is based in New York, and lawyers for the sheikh have both been contacted for comment.

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