Arkesden, United Kingdom
Anne Curry bronze sculpture stolen from her garden
ITV, citing Essex Police, reported that the bronze was stolen overnight on 5–6 December 2024. Its reported sale value was about £60,000.
THE ARCHIVE BY COUNTRY
United Kingdom
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.
79 reports · Page 2 / 4
Lyme Regis, United Kingdom
Dorset Police seek paintings stolen from Lyme Regis art studio
Several paintings were taken in a burglary at Studio 19 between 1 and 4 December 2024. Dorset Police published images of the missing works and sought information about possible offers for sale. Image: Dorset Police.
London, United Kingdom
Bonhams reoffers a Roman silver plate amid claims it was looted
A Roman silver plate decorated with a river god returned to Bonhams’ London catalogue after an earlier sale in July 2024. Archaeologist Christos Tsirogiannis urged the auctioneer to withdraw it, citing photographic evidence he said linked the object to illicit trade and suggesting it had been looted in Turkey. The provenance claim was disputed.
London, United Kingdom
Banksy's Girl with Balloon recovered
Police announced the recovery after the work was stolen from a London gallery on 8 September.
Titian, The Rest on the Flight into Egypt. Christie’s; the painting recovered in 2002. Image source ↗
Longleat and London, United Kingdom
Titian: historical reward and recovery
The Rest on the Flight into Egypt, stolen in 1995, was recovered in 2002 after a £100,000 reward was offered.
London, United Kingdom
Conservation reveals later alterations to Rubens’s Judgement of Paris
After more than a year of conservation, the National Gallery documented changes made to Rubens’s Judgement of Paris. Researchers found that some amendments were by an unidentified hand.
Eastbourne and Chatsworth, United Kingdom
Stolen Quellinus double portrait returns to Chatsworth after 45 years
Erasmus Quellinus II’s double portrait of Rubens and Van Dyck was taken from a 1979 exhibition at the Towner Art Gallery in Eastbourne. An art historian spotted it at a Toulon auction in 2021. Chatsworth recovered and conserved the painting, which was back on display by May 2024. Photo: Chatsworth House Trust.
Oxford, United Kingdom
Salvator Rosa painting returned to Oxford gallery
The Baroque landscape was handed to authorities in Romania and returned to Christ Church Picture Gallery.
Henry the bronze stag, stolen from Alison Cork’s front garden. Nigel Howard Media / The Independent. Image source ↗
Knightsbridge, London, United Kingdom
Henry the bronze stag stolen from Alison Cork’s London home
Alison Cork reported the theft of her bronze stag Henry from her front garden and offered £1,000 for its return. Police confirmed an investigation and no arrests at publication. The offer’s current validity has not been confirmed.
London, United Kingdom
Velázquez’s Rokeby Venus returns to view after conservation
The National Gallery returned the Rokeby Venus to display about four weeks after a hammer attack. Conservators treated minor surface damage and the painting was fitted with new glazing.
Leaping-woman statue stolen from The Grove Hotel grounds — artwork or case documentation from the linked image source. Image source ↗
Watford, United Kingdom
Leaping-woman statue stolen from The Grove Hotel grounds
Hertfordshire police released an image of a statue missing from the hotel grounds between 13 and 25 October 2023. The published estimate was about £11,500. Its later whereabouts are not established by the notice.
Hawk On Stand Koro pictured in ITV’s theft report / Hannam’s Auctioneers, via ITV News. Image source ↗
Alton, United Kingdom
Japanese bronze hawk incense burner stolen from Alton auction house
Hampshire Police appealed after a window was smashed at Hannam’s Auctioneers on 16 October 2023. Two people reportedly left in a blue car with Hawk On Stand Koro by Maruki, a Japanese bronze incense burner. The release describes an active burglary investigation and announces no arrest or recovery.
Lax̱g̱alts’ap, Canada / Edinburgh, United Kingdom
House of Ni’isjoohl memorial pole returns from Scotland to the Nass Valley
The Nisg̱a’a Nation celebrated the return of the House of Ni’isjoohl memorial pole in September 2023. Commissioned by matriarch Joanna Moody in 1860, the carved pole spent 94 years in Scotland. The image shows a Nisg̱a’a delegation with the pole in Edinburgh before transport.
Royal Collection reattributes Susanna and the Elders to Artemisia Gentileschi — artwork or case documentation from the linked image source. Image source ↗
Windsor and Hampton Court, United Kingdom
Royal Collection reattributes Susanna and the Elders to Artemisia Gentileschi
Royal Collection research and conservation identified a painting long catalogued as French School as Artemisia’s Susanna and the Elders. Inventory evidence and a royal brand helped establish its history.
Gustave Courbet, La Ronde Enfantine · Fitzwilliam Museum / Art UK / Wikimedia Commons Image source ↗
Cambridge, United Kingdom
Courbet’s La Ronde Enfantine and the Robert Bing restitution
The UK panel recommended returning the Courbet seized from Robert Bing’s Paris apartment in 1941. The heirs’ representative records the completed return. The painting likely corresponds to LootedArt’s Forest Scene, whose reported exchange is uncertain.
London, United Kingdom
Piero della Francesca’s Nativity returns to view after restoration
The National Gallery displayed the panel after a three-year conservation project. Work on the damaged surface recovered details of the shepherds and of the light on the stable wall. The gallery now interprets the sparse shadows as a deliberate feature tied to Saint Bridget’s vision of the Nativity.
Benin plaque from the Horniman collection involved in the ownership transfer. Horniman Museum and Gardens. Image source ↗
London, United Kingdom; Benin City, Nigeria
Horniman transfers ownership of 72 objects to Nigeria; first six due for handover
On 28 November 2022, the Horniman announced transfer to Nigeria of ownership of 72 objects taken from Benin City in 1897. Six were due for handover that evening; the rest would initially remain in Britain on loan. The announcement does not confirm arrival of all 72 in Nigeria.
London, United Kingdom
Two Suzi Malin paintings recovered from a stolen London archive
Metropolitan Police secured two paintings at a commercial premises on 24 November and identified them as works stolen in the 2018 Maida Vale burglary. The theft involved an archive of about 400 works by Suzi Malin. The image shows The Leather Boys, a painting reported stolen in the case, via Westminster Extra.
London, United Kingdom
Sarah Księska’s Präparat stolen during London Frieze week
Sarah Księska’s 2021 oil painting on aluminium went missing from a Ramiken group exhibition at the Averard Hotel shortly after its opening on 11 October 2022. The gallery reported the theft to police. Image courtesy of the artist and Ramiken.
Grayson Perry’s Alien Baby / Avon and Somerset Police, via Bristol24/7. Image source ↗
Bristol, United Kingdom
Grayson Perry’s Alien Baby stolen from Bristol’s Hidden Gallery
Bristol24/7 reported a police investigation after Grayson Perry’s Alien Baby was stolen from Hidden Gallery in Clifton Arcade. The limited-edition gilded ceramic figure is 27 cm tall. Police sought information about two men seen near the display. The dated report makes no announcement of recovery or conviction.
Selection of the stolen statues / Gloucestershire Constabulary, via ITV News. Image source ↗
Moreton-in-Marsh, United Kingdom
Twenty lead statues stolen from a Moreton-in-Marsh estate
ITV reported that 20 lead-based statues, valued together at about £19,000, were stolen from a Moreton-in-Marsh estate between 24 and 26 July 2022. Some had stood there for over 70 years. Gloucestershire Police appealed for information; the report does not announce a recovery or identified offender.