Last year, I posted about the theft and return of Cellini’s masterpiece in Thank Heavens for Cell Phones! From an article in the New York Times on the dim wittedness of art thieves:
Many of the most notorious art thefts in past decades bear him out and illuminate a strange disconnect between the enduring mystique of art theft and the reality of its perpetrators. The theft in Vienna in 2003 of a gold-plated saltcellar made by Benvenuto Cellini, valued at $60 million, was traced to a 50-year-old alarm-systems specialist with no criminal record. The police, who caught him after he tried to ransom the sculpture, called him a “funny guy” who had decided to take the Cellini more or less spontaneously. A divorcé who lived alone, he kept the sculpture under his bed for two years.
February 17, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Couple of far more sophisticated thieves made off with impressive impressionists last week in Italy(? )Daring daylight armed robbery, in and out.
February 17, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Yep, well, that’s what sparked the article in the Times. There is some doubt about the level of their sophistication. Let’s see what happens when they try to convert the art to cash!
February 17, 2008 at 7:37 pm
I can relate to the “funny guy’s” solution for dealing with his looted Cellini – wrap it up, keep it under the bed, take it out every day, ceremonially unwrap it and then enjoy it – for its beauty. At least he got a brief time of pleasure from it. Even “funny guys” deserve a pleasure and beauty respite. Pleasure often doesn’t equate with money power. G
February 17, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Suburbanlife – I TOTALLY agree!
February 18, 2008 at 4:34 pm
i gave art theft some thought. i think it’s probably relatively easy to steal just about any art work, but v v hard to sell.