To avoid: attributed to Gerard van Berleborch

Normally, a painting attributed to Gerard van Berleborch would be quite interesting, and certainly with a very low estimate. But in this case, the auction tries to sell it as "(attributed to) Gerard van Berleborch", but with an estimate that correctly reflects that this painting hasn't been touched or probably even be seen by Berleborch ever... It's a very poor copy, but dirty enough that some people may hope that beneath all that dirt a shining masterpiece is hidden. This seems, well, highly unlikely. Not a single thing in that painting points to the quality of a real Berleborch (even though he was a limited painter, his works have a realistic quality that is sorely lacking here). I just don't understand why an auction would accept an attribution in the title, but reject it in the valuation (a real "attributed to Terborch" would be at least 5,000 Euro). UPDATE: it sold for 1,500 Euro, which is way too much for this poor copy and very cheap in the unlikely event that a real Berleborch is hidden beneath this. Not the kind of gamble I'ld like to take...

If you believe that someone is trying to sell a painting through your auction house with an incorrect attribution, then get him to change the attribution or refuse to sell it. Don't jeopardize your own reputation though.