'Fake' Botticelli work is from artist's studio, experts say

LONDON - Art experts in Britain have discovered that a painting thought to be a fake Sandro Botticelli in fact came from the master's own Florence workshop.

After stripping back a century of yellowing varnish and surface dirt, conservators confirmed that "Madonna Of The Pomegranate" -- a smaller version of the famous 1487 painting in Florence's Uffizi Gallery -- was "stylistically too similar to be an imitation."

English Heritage conservator Rachel Turnbull said Thursday that X-ray and infrared tests showed an under-drawing and changes uncommon in imitations.

The painting, part of a collection bought by a diamond magnate, shows gold leaf adorning Mary's halo and the wings of the angels worshipping her.

It will go on display in Ranger's House, a Georgian villa in southeastern London, from April 1.

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