Artwork stirs fierce row

A painting by Renaissance master El Greco has found itself at the centre of a fierce ownership row between the Romanian state, a disputed prince and a Russian oligarch.

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Bucharest -

Billionaire businessman Dmitry Rybolovlev currently owns the artwork, thought to be worth between $7 million (about R126 million) and $9 million, and has been looking to sell it.

But the early 17th-century painting of Saint Sebastian, which shows the martyr's body pierced by arrows, has been stranded at Christie's in New York until all the legal wrangling is resolved.

The prestigious auction house cancelled its planned bidding war for the El Greco in February "out of an abundance of caution" after the Romanian government laid claim to the piece which, it says, belongs in its royal art collection.