Sunday

£37 Million Art Recovered

A three year hunt for a stolen £37m Renaissance salt cellar dubbed the “Mona Lisa of sculptures” came to an end yesterday when the suspected art thief led Austrian police to his buried treasure. The world’s most expensive salt cellar, called the Saliera and crafted by artist Benvenuto Cellini between 1540 and 1543, was found undamaged in a wooden case in a forest outside Zwettl, the suspect’s home town 55 miles north of Vienna. Police did not identify the art-thief, who was still being questioned. The man had been captured on a surveillance camera while buying the mobile phone that was used to send a text message to police in a failed attempt to extort a ransom. For the full story - click the title Irish Art