THE ARCHIVE BY COUNTRY
Published reports from our archive, newest first.
A country may refer to the theft, recovery, return or legal proceedings. A case can be linked to more than one country.
15 reports
Knews reported on 7 November that the National Gallery of Australia handed two limestone heads from Northern Song imperial tombs in Henan to Chinese heritage authorities in Canberra on 28 October 2026. They depict a civil official from Yongchang Mausoleum and a military official from Yongyu Mausoleum. Photo: Embassy of China in Australia.
Ermenegildo Zegna Perpetual Trophy on display before the theft. Supplied: Tasmanian Wool Centre, via ABC News. Image source ↗
ABC reported that Stephen Walker’s Ermenegildo Zegna trophy, stolen from Ross in December 2025, remained missing despite an AU$15,000 reward. The June 2026 report also addresses insurance; current reward validity is unconfirmed.
Two carved wooden wall panels from Te Whare o Heretaunga were repatriated to Aotearoa through the Tamatea Pōkai Whenua Trust after a farewell at the South Australian Museum. The two pou had arrived in Adelaide in 1891 and belong to a dispersed group of about 60 carvings commissioned for a Māori meeting house.
Two bronze figures by Rowan Gillespie were stolen from St John’s Park in April 2025. Tasmania Police recovered fragments. The commissioning group later confirmed that the originals had been destroyed and that only fragments of one figure were recovered. Image: the original sculptures before the theft, via From the Shadows.
Sparkly Bear before the theft. Credit: Gillie and Marc, via ABC. Image source ↗
Gillie and Marc’s bronze Sparkly Bear was stolen from Barkly Square in Brunswick early on 11 September 2024. Police said three offenders used an angle grinder and a truck-mounted crane to remove the bear-on-a-bicycle sculpture. The artwork was valued at about A$60,000. The investigation remained open when ABC published its follow-up; no recovery was announced.
Police image showing the Sir Joseph Banks memorial sculpture. Credit: ACT Policing. Image source ↗
ACT Policing appealed for witnesses after the Sir Joseph Banks memorial sculpture was taken from its plinth near the Australian National Botanic Gardens information kiosk on 25 June 2024, between 3pm and 3.25pm. Police described the brass sculpture as weighing about 25kg and asked visitors to check photographs and video. The release announced an investigation, not charges or a recovery.
The three Cham bronzes returned to Cambodian ownership. Photo reproduced with reporting on the restitution. Image source ↗
Cambodia’s embassy reported a 28 July 2023 handover at the National Gallery of Australia. Ownership of the three Cham bronzes known as Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara Padmapani with Attendants returned to Cambodia. Under the agreement they remained on loan in Australia for three years; this was not a physical shipment to Cambodia at the source date.
India announced the sculpture’s return from Australia and its April 2023 transfer to the Idol Wing as case property.
Pablo Picasso, Weeping woman, 1937. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. © Succession Picasso / Copyright Agency. Image source ↗
SBS revisited the 1986 theft of The Weeping Woman from the NGV. Victoria’s government offered A$50,000 for information leading to recovery. The painting was found undamaged that August. This reward belongs to a recovered-artwork case.
National Gallery of Australia announces return of fourteen works to India — artwork or case documentation from the linked image source. Image source ↗
The gallery announced that fourteen works would be removed from its Asian collection and repatriated after provenance review. The group included sculptures, a processional standard, a painted scroll and photographs; transport was prospective.
The Federal Court ruled that administrators of the collapsed Mossgreen auction house were not justified in requiring consignors to pay an inventory fee to recover their property. Photo shows the auction house in Armadale.
Victoria’s Court of Appeal quashed the convictions of two men in a case over paintings attributed to Brett Whiteley and entered acquittals. Image of one of the disputed paintings, via ABC News.
Worshippers of the Buddha, one of the two works returned to India. AAP / SBS. Image source ↗
The National Gallery of Australia returned Worshippers of the Buddha and Goddess Pratyangira to India after provenance investigations raised concerns about illicit export and trade. These are separate works from the Shiva returned in 2014.
Louise McBride bought Faun and Parrot from Christie’s in 2000 as a work by Albert Tucker. A New South Wales court found that Christie’s learned of authenticity doubts soon after the sale and failed to alert the buyer, holding it liable for most of her loss. Photo: the disputed painting, via Justinian.
Australia’s National Gallery confirms the 5 September 2014 repatriation, used as the card date, following India’s claim.
