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A complex conservation process revealed the layer of the painting inits original subtlety and delicate retouchings recreated the integralsurface of the painting. As a result, we can confirm that it is a paintingof high artistic quality dating most probably from the middle ofthe 17th century, painted on an oak panel of German origin. Weremain doubtful about the Internet auction suggested authorship,as the painting does not reach the artistic quality of Jan DavidszDé Heem, a top rank artist from the Netherlands. It is possible tocontinue with the art-historical analysis (and other investigations)of the painting, to find further proof for the hypothetical dating andmaybe even reach an attribution but we must not forget to ask thequestions whether and to whom it would be necessary. What matters for the owner of the painting is the fact that an artwork which decorates the wall of his home has both aesthetic and historical value – even without knowing its exact date or the painter.

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's in Pilistvere is a typical late 13 th century stone church in central Estonia. 1 Its majestic but relatively plain architecture gives the church a certain feeling of serene dignity. The few decorative elements of the northern portal and the corbels in the nave are exceptional in the architectural sculpture of medieval Livonia (present-day Estonia and Latvia). The partly damaged imposts of the portal bear the depictions of a dragon on the left hand side and a man in the grip of a devil on the right hand side (Fig. 1). The message about the dangers of the worldly life as opposed to the safety of the sacred space is very clear. Inside the church, most corbels have foliage decoration but the one to the right of the triumphal arch is different. Although it has been badly damaged, the iconography can still be worked out: here Samson, the hero of the Old Testament is shown breaking the pillar of the temple of the Philistines, which he demolished after having been tricked by Delilah. 2 Here again the medieval congregation was reminded of earthly vices and divine intervention. None of the medieval furnishings have survived in the church. Luckily, the 17 th century wooden pulpit of the post-Reformation interior still adorns the triumphal arch. The polygonal pulpit is decorated with the