The queen dusts off her Caravaggio

A painting owned by Queen Elizabeth II that languished for years in a dusty storeroom has been identified as the work of Italian master Caravaggio and will go on display at Buckingham Palace, royal art officials said Friday.

Desmond Shawe-Taylor, whose title is surveyor of the queen’s pictures, said that the work had been identified by experts as “The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew,” one of about 50 surviving works by the Renaissance master.

The picture has been in the royal collection for about 400 years and was long thought to be a copy of a lost original. It rested for years in a storeroom at Hampton Court Palace.

Newspaper reports said the painting, which was first bought by King Charles I in the 17th century, could be worth more than $96 million. The queen is forbidden to sell items in the Royal Collection, which she holds in trust on behalf of the nation.