A Rembrandt portrait of an anonymous man with his hand on his hip is expected to be the most highly estimated Old Master painting ever offered at auction when it is displayed for sale in London in December. The 3 foot, 6 inch high canvas by the 17th-century Dutch master Rembrandt is expected to obtain between 18 million pounds ($29.7 million) and 25 million pounds at Christie's International's Dec 8 sale of Old Masters and 19th-century art.The Christie's International is a London based auction house.

Christies's International revealed that the December auction also will also consist of painting by the 17th-century Italian artist Domenichino that will be priced at 7 million pounds to 10 million pounds. Ever since Christie's has discarded the practice of offering lowest prices at the end of 2008,exceedingly priced works have been in short supply, chiefly at contemporary-art auctions.The dealers stated that during the crash, auction prices for Old Masters have decreased less than those for contemporary art.Paintings by some surviving artists are selling at auction for rates which are 30 percent to 50 percent lesser than they were a year ago.

Richard Knight,Christie's international co-head of Old Masters and 19th-century art stated that Old Masters has been a supple market for several years.