TREASURES RECOVERED

Evening Star, Issue 21092, 3 May 1932, Page 10

TREASURES RECOVERED

ART THIEVES’ SPOIL Detectives have recovered paintings by old masters, carved ivories, and other art objects which were worth £27,000 when they were stolen in London last April. They were found in an obscure shop in Southwark. Inquiries were recently being made which the police hopes will lead to the tracking down of the gang of art thieves who, during the past few years, have been responsible for the theft of treasures worth £IOO,OOO. The recovered property, which was stolen from the office of Mr H. A. Haase, in Oxford street west, London, was b dly damaged.. Among tho paintings was Gainsborough’s ‘ Countess of Chesterfield,’ a picture known by art experts the world over, which was sold some time ago for £17,000. Other famous pictures found included ‘ A Portrait of Miss Grant,’ by Reynolds; ‘ A Portrait of a Gentleman,’ by Gainsborough; and pictures by Van Dyck and Steen. . After hacking the pictures from their frames, the thieves folded them in such a way that the paint in some places has badly cracked and flaked off. Tho detectives have also taken possession of some Peersion rugs, valuable tapestries, and a number of seven-teenth-century carved Chinese figures. “ I am afraid most of tho pictures are utterly ruinejl,” said Mr Hasse, after he had inspected the recovered articles. “ I cannot say yet how many thousands of pounds’ worth of damage has been done. It is heart-breaking.” The recovery of the property suggests that art thieves have not the elaborate channels with which they have been credited for the disposal of their spoil. Detectives visited a number of curio shops in the East End in the hope of, getting on tho track of the Earl of Minto’s picture of tho first Countess of Minto by Reynolds, which was stolen two years ago, together with jewellery worth many thousands of pounds.