Sale of treasures casts doubt on commitment to heritage

The sale of Maratta's The Crucifixion of St Andrew at the Maastricht art fair comes a year after a first group of Gosford House works were put up for sale there.

The Baptism of Christ, by Nicolas Poussin, was priced in the region of 6-8 million, and has sold, along with Jan de Bray's David and the Return of the Ark, created in 1670.

However, the sale of a third painting, The Drunkenness of Noah, by Bernardo Cavallino, has not yet gone through.

Dealer Simon Dickinson declined to comment on the reason the painting had not sold, while the Earl of Wemyss was unavailable for comment, Gosford House staff said. There has been speculation in the art world that the current earl is "not as committed to preserving cultural heritage" as his father, the 12th earl, who died aged 96 in 2008.

But there have been new efforts to catalogue works. It is suggested that Gosford House, designed by Robert Adam, with a stunning marble hall and galleries, set in 5,000 acres of parkland, coast and lakes, may be being prepared for wider public and commercial uses.

The Wemyss collection is thought to include works by such as Murillo and Rubens, as well as Scots like Allan Ramsay and Sir Henry Raeburn.