Hermitage recovers another piece of stolen art

Last Updated: Friday, August 4, 2006 | 4:41 PM ET

CBC Arts

Another piece from the 221 items reported missing by Hermitage Museum has been recovered, a Russian official says.

A 19th-century chalice was turned in by a Moscow dealer, who said he had discovered it among his collection after the venerable museum went public Monday about the theft of its artifacts.

"It went on display during several antique art fairs," Anatoly Vilkov, head of the department in the Culture Ministry that oversees the protection of cultural treasures, said Friday.

Vilkov said the dealer told them he bought the silver, gold and gem-encrusted goblet in 2004. The dealer, whom the police did not identify, is co-operating with a police investigation.

St. Petersburg police announced on Thursday that an anonymous tip led them to a trash can where they found a wooden religious icon.

Hermitage director Mikhail Piotrovsky blamed the theft on staff.  He said only three people had access to the area where the items were taken.

In addition, police and cultural officials are examining the sudden death of a curator in charge of that section. They would not identify the person but said the curator died just as the inventory started.

The announcement about the missing valuables has caused a stir in the museum world after Hermitage officials revealed they only discovered the theft after starting an inventory last October.  As well, items in storage are not insured.

The Hermitage has more than three million artifacts and works of art, 90 per cent of which are usually in storage.  The missing objects are believed to be valued at $5.5 million Cdn but some reports have pegged their worth at more than $55 million.

With files from the Associated Press