Merlion
05-31-2006, 11:19 PM
Still more bronze sculptures are being stolen in the UK, and not found. Perhaps the recent high price of copper has to do with it. The news article below is taken from the Independent of UK.
Theft of bronze statues worth £45,000 linked to 'artworks for scrap' gang Published: 31 May 2006
Two bronze statues worth £45,000 in total have become the latest artworks to be stolen by thieves believed to be taking sculptures for their scrap value.
Police will examine whether the criminals behind the most recent thefts in Wiltshire and Gloucestershire are responsible for taking a £3m Henry Moore bronze sculpture last December.
Detectives are also expected to investigate any links with the theft in January of part of a £600,000 bronze sculpture by Lynn Chadwick from grounds of a London university. In total more than 20 similar thefts of bronze artworks have been carried out throughout the country in the past year. Despite their value as art, the bronzes are worth just a few thousand pounds as scrap. [snip]
The most famous sculpture taken in recent thefts was Henry Moore's Reclining Figure, which was stolen from the Henry Moore Foundation near Much Hadham, Hertfordshire, on 15 December.
Thieves hoisted it on to a flatbed lorry as it stood in a courtyard awaiting repositioning. The lorry was found, but the artwork, made in 1969-1970, was not.
Despite an intensive police investigation that has included examining several scrap metal yards, the statue has yet to be recovered. On the open market, it would fetch about £5,000 for the metal. Detectives have also considered whether the statue was taken abroad or is being kept hidden until the investigation has quietened down.
Click here (http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article622131.ece) for the full article.
Theft of bronze statues worth £45,000 linked to 'artworks for scrap' gang Published: 31 May 2006
Two bronze statues worth £45,000 in total have become the latest artworks to be stolen by thieves believed to be taking sculptures for their scrap value.
Police will examine whether the criminals behind the most recent thefts in Wiltshire and Gloucestershire are responsible for taking a £3m Henry Moore bronze sculpture last December.
Detectives are also expected to investigate any links with the theft in January of part of a £600,000 bronze sculpture by Lynn Chadwick from grounds of a London university. In total more than 20 similar thefts of bronze artworks have been carried out throughout the country in the past year. Despite their value as art, the bronzes are worth just a few thousand pounds as scrap. [snip]
The most famous sculpture taken in recent thefts was Henry Moore's Reclining Figure, which was stolen from the Henry Moore Foundation near Much Hadham, Hertfordshire, on 15 December.
Thieves hoisted it on to a flatbed lorry as it stood in a courtyard awaiting repositioning. The lorry was found, but the artwork, made in 1969-1970, was not.
Despite an intensive police investigation that has included examining several scrap metal yards, the statue has yet to be recovered. On the open market, it would fetch about £5,000 for the metal. Detectives have also considered whether the statue was taken abroad or is being kept hidden until the investigation has quietened down.
Click here (http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article622131.ece) for the full article.