Silverman Sherliker rescue Italian church’s stolen art

Silverman Sherliker was recently retained by the community of Campo di Giove in Italy to prevent the sale of two stolen 14th century panels, due to be auctioned by Christie’s in London within days of the matter coming to light.  Valued at £100,000-£150,000, the panels were part of an altar screen painted by 14th century master Abruzo in the 17th century church in Italy, at the foot of the Apennines to the west of Rome.

Stolen in 1902, the whereabouts of the panels had been a mystery until they appeared in the Christie's catalogue a few weeks before the scheduled date of the auction.

A long-standing client of the firm, whose family came from the village, approached us and instructed us to take steps to ensure the panels were saved. The client’s brief was simple, saying: "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to save the works for our  family’s ancestral village; my family feel so close to the village and we want to do all we can to right the wrong.”

There was a precedent for the demands being made for the return of the church’s stolen panels being offered for sale. They were once part of a larger work of art that was cut up and sold in the early part of the last century following the theft, which was widely publicised at the time.

Originally consisting of some 16 paintings, two of which were sold in Paris in the 1920s, the church was fortunate to learn last year that two of the pictures had been given to the Rapid Falls Museum in the USA.

Having explained the fact that works had been stolen, the executive council of the museum unanimously agreed to give to the panels back to the church so that they could be reinstated in their rightful place and enjoyed by the local community.

Strenuous efforts by Silverman Sherliker partner Jonathan Silverman, who retained the retired head of Scotland Yard’s stolen art unit, resulted in Christies agreeing to withdraw the works from the sale just one day ahead of the auction.