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Friday, 29th February 2008 (1745 views)

A gold theft has been cited in a new report on the pleasure criminals take in fine art.

According to the Times, art thieves are much like philanthropists in their veneration for fine paintings, drawings, sculptures and objects, if not in their desire to share this love with the world.

The publication points to a 2003 case in which a gold salt cellar by Cellini was stolen from a museum in Vienna by an alarms expert.

Italian goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini was born in 1500 and is also renowned as a sculptor, musician and writer.

The item was hoarded by the thief, who stored it beneath his bed for some two years.

Such appreciation for the finer things in life is said to be common to both criminals and benefactors.

The comments come after two high-profile events in the art world: the theft of Paul Cezanne's Boy in a Red Vest from a private gallery in Switzerland and the handing over of a £125 million collection of art to the Tate and the National Galleries of Scotland by British dealer Anthony d'Offay.

 

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