Thieves perfect art of stealing beauty

The theft of artworks sees a sharp rise — and most of it goes for scrap

CRIMINALS are targeting priceless bronze and silver artefacts described by experts as national treasures — only to sell them to scrap merchants.

The thieves are eager to make quick, easy money from the sale of the sculptures, relics and silverware, some of which dates to the 1700s.

Specialist insurance company Artinsure — which has a register of more than 217 missing artworks — says there has been a 40% spike in art theft in South Africa over the past year, forcing galleries, museums and private art collectors to beef up security and place replicas on display while keeping the valuable original works hidden.

Artinsure’s managing director Gordon Massie said: “A lot of art is made of recyclable material — bronze, copper and other metals. Those works are being stolen from public and private institutions and homes. They are stolen not because of the aesthetic nature of the work, but for the money the scrap dealers would give them.”

But amore sophisticated type of art theft is also taking place, said Mary-Jane Darroll, a Johannesburg-based art dealer, curator and appraiser.

“It’s where there’s an individual who has a wish list and sends someone to go and get Chinese origin dating back two centuries were taken from the East London Museum.

The museum has now beefed up security, according to spokesman Manzi Vabaza.

At the Albany Museum in Grahamstown, thieves made off with items from the 1820 Settler Gallery, including a gold pocket watch, a gold brooch and two gold rings, while the GraaffReinet Museum is missing two Anglo-Boer War medals.

Thieves recently took silver cutlery belonging the McCleland family — the original 1820 Settlers — from the 7th Castle Museum in Port Elizabeth.

Museum curator Grizel Hart said there was little hope of the items being recovered.

“We contacted all the pawn brokers and antique shops. Nothing has come to light. I believe these were young men merely looking for a quick buck,” she said.

Insurance company AON said claims for stolen artwork had risen sharply.

“South Africa has not escaped

They are stolen not because of the aesthetic nature . . . but for the money scrap dealers would give

ANGELS HAVE FLOWN: The bronze and gold cherubs were snatched from the top of this ‘irreplaceable, priceless’ clock on display at the Tatham Art Gallery in Pietermaritzburg that work,” she said.

“I’ve heard of this happening. That work then gets stolen and goes out of the country, and then it’s almost impossible to find. It’s a very different kind of art theft.”

Art experts have refused to reveal the value of the stolen artworks, fearing that to do so would encourage further crimes.

Massie said: “There are no statistics behind it because it is a covert, illegal activity. If we sit here talking about R200-million or R500-million . . . then the criminal fraternity would be even more excited.”

Artinsure’s list of missing art since 2009 includes:

Several William Kentridge paintings;

Royal Doulton porcelain figurines;

A 19th-century black marble clock;

Several Edoardo Villa bronze sculptures, valued at about R100 000 each; and

A French King Louis XVI gold snuff box dating to 1777. A similar piece sold on auction for about R430 000.

The artworks have been stolen from private homes, as well as from museums and art galleries.

Massie fears the sculptures have already “been turned into ashtrays and door handles”.

“None of the recycled material works have been recovered. At the moment we are sitting with a recovery rate of 14%,” he said.

Last month in two separate raids, seven meteorites worth more than R1-million and a wooden box and five vases of the growing incidence of art theft and with the growing love affair between collectors and South African artworks, it’s a trend that art owners should be concerned about,” said marketing and sales manager Mandy Barrett.

“While incidents of accidental damage have dropped off, claims as a result of theft have increased. Thefts are taking place from galleries, museums and private collections by highly organised syndicates who are finding fertile markets for their stolen pieces,” she said.

Bryony Clark, assistant director at Pietermaritzburg’s Tatham Art Gallery, said it was vital that something was done to protect South Africa’s art.

The gallery was robbed in mid-December, with thieves stealing the bronze and gold cherubs from the top of an “irreplaceable, priceless” clock made in 1918.

“We assume that the angels have been added to the endless heap of scrap,” Clark said.

“It’s just so heartbreaking. The plundering of our country’s artistic heritage needs to be stopped urgently,” she said.