Unsigned, in need of cleaning and with a puncture inflicted by Hurricane Charlie, the oil on canvas ship portrait still managed to fetch a world record price of $281,000 at Skinner’s February 19 Americana sale.

The circa 1873 painting was originally identified as a J.E. Buttersworth ship portrait during an Antiques Roadshow segment taped in Tampa, Fla., but when it came to Skinner, extensive and meticulous scholarship revealed it to be an Antonio Jacobsen image of the schooner Dreadnought about to round the mark in a New York Yacht Club race.

Said consultant Charlie Lannagan, who researched the picture, it’s simply “a masterpiece.” Because of the uncertainty about the artist when the catalog went to press, no estimate was published.

Skinner’s Boston gallery is at 63 Park Plaza. For information, www.skinnerinc.com.