The ex-voto painting commemorates an important event in the life of Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt: the 1614 Raid of Żejtun.

One of Malta’s “lost treasures”, a painting commemorating one of the most important moments in the life of Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt, is set to go under the hammer at a French auction house today.

The undocumented ex-voto painting is of the ‘Raid of Żejtun’, known as l-Aħħar Ħbit, since it was the last major attack made by the Ottoman Empire against Malta.

It took place in 1614, when raiders pillaged Żejtun and the surrounding area before being beaten back to their ships by the Order of St John and the inhabitants of the south-eastern towns and villages.

Historian Robert Attard came across the painting while perusing the online auction catalogue of SGL Enchères, a Parisian auctioneer.

Measuring only 28 by 19 centimetres, the painting is quite small but its quality and historic importance are of high value. It is expected to fetch between €20,000 and €25,000.

Dr Attard said the painting might have been presented at a chapel as a votive offering by the Grand Master himself. It features him kneeling down in prayer in front of a crucifix. The prayer desk shows his coat of arms while a detailed note narrates the event.

“This is the same Grandmaster of the famous Caravaggio painting but here he looks older and the image is much more stylised. The colours are extremely vivid and the quality of the work brings to mind similar works at the Louvre Museum.”

A Turkish fleet can be seen in the background.

“The Ottomans were making a statement: ‘We lost the siege but we are not dead in the water’.

“On July 6, 1614, a Turkish force of around 60 galleys appeared off the southern coast of Malta and 6,000 Turkish soldiers disembarked in Marsascala to pillage and plunder. Żejtun was sacked and the Maltese were terrified.”

The Order sent a cavalry regiment to attack the invaders but they were almost defeated by the Ottomans. Meanwhile, a militia force of around 6,000 to 8,000 men was assembled and it fought the Ottomans in a number of skirmishes lasting a couple of days.

The Ottomans returned to their ships on July 12 and sailed to Tripoli on a punitive expedition against a local insurgent. At the time, Dr Attard notes, many ascribed the Turks’ hasty departure to divine intervention.

A close-up of the Turkish fleet departing the island.

“The picture is undocumented but it remains an interesting piece deserving further research.”

He described it as one of “Malta’s lost treasures”.

Alof de Wignacourt was a French nobleman who served as Grand Master between 1601 and 1622. He is mostly remembered for the construction of the Wignacourt aqueduct, as well as a series of coastal towers which also bear his name.

Wignacourt joined the Order in 1564, aged 17, and distinguished himself at the Great Siege of Malta a year later.

In order to ensure that the Maltese continued to celebrate the date of his accession, he declared the date of the shipwreck of St Paul in Malta to be February 10. He was also the patron of Caravaggio following the artist’s arrival in Malta.