Christie’s in London is offering two works by Rembrandt for sale in July which have not been seen for some 200 years.

The paintings of Leiden plumber Jan Willemsz. van der Pluym and his wife Jaapgen Carels are signed and dated by the artist. They were last seen at a Christie’s auction in June 1824 and have been owned by an unnamed British family since then. 

Christie’s describes the paintings as a “landmark rediscovery”.

“With a virtually unbroken line of provenance, these pictures were acquired at Christie’s by an ancestor of the present owners almost two centuries ago and have remained completely unknown to scholars ever since,” the auction house said.

“They return to Christie’s now after an extensive scholarly investigation and scientific analysis undertaken at the Rijksmuseum.”

The paintings, which are just 20 centimetres high, are expected to raise up to €9.2 million.