Stolen Gauguin on Sicily kitchen wall for 40 years_美文

Stolen Gauguin on Sicily kitchen wall for 40 years

The painting named Fruit on a Table with a Small Dog depicts two bowls brimming with brightly colored grapes, apples and other pieces of fruit. On the front is a painted "89" an indication it was created in 1889. It now measures 46.5 by 53 centimeters slightly smaller than when Gauguin created it because the thieves cut the painting out of its frame, police said.

The painting will remain in the custody of the art squad because the police have yet to receive an official notice that it is stolen, Quagliarella said. The art squad traced it using newspaper articles in 1970 reporting the theft of a wealthy London family's art collection.

Italy's culture minister Dario Franceschini called the painting's recovery an "extraordinary" find.

London's Scotland Yard has been in contact with the Italian police but said in a statement on Wednesday it had not been possible to trace the records of the theft. Italian police found a photo of the painting in a June 28, 1961, auction in London.

Chris Marinello of Art Recovery International, which helps track down stolen artworks, said the story of treasures ending up in lost-and-found departments was not unprecedented.

In 2006, the Duchess of Argyll lost a tiara, a diamond Cartier brooch and other jewels at Glasgow Airport. Six years later they were put up for auction it turned out they had been sold by the airport as unclaimed property. After negotiations, they were returned to the duchess.