Travellers may be linked to €40m art theft, say police

POLICE in Scotland are investigating the possibility that Irish Travellers were involved in the theft of a €40m Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece.

Travellers have been linked in the past to thefts of this nature, Scottish police said.

A reward of stg£100,000 has been offered to recover the painting, Madonna of the Yarnwinder, which was stolen from the stately home of one of Scotland’s wealthiest families.

It was taken from its frame by two men posing as visitors who overpowered a female guide. The alarm went off but the thieves escaped before police arrived. It is believed the thieves could try and sell the masterpiece back to the insurers.

The da Vinci was completed between 1500 and 1510. It depicts the Madonna with the baby Jesus holding a cross-shaped yarnwinder and is said to symbolise Christ’s destiny to die in the crucifixion.

Mark Dalrymple, representing the insurers Lloyd’s Underwriters, said he was confident the painting could be recovered. “This will be a very substantial reward and the amount will depend on the nature of the information provided and police approval. This painting cannot be sold publicly, the thieves will never be able to sell it on. It’s probably one of the most important paintings that’s been stolen in the UK Britain for 50 or 70 years. Some have likened it to the theft of the Mona Lisa,” he said.

The Earl of Dalkeith, son of the painting’s owner the Duke of Buccleuch, said: “Our sense of shock is just as deep as it was when we were told about the theft, but we are extremely grateful for the enormous effort the police and everyone else are making to recover the painting and find the perpetrators.”

It is thought that some of the gang are Glasgow-based and the picture could be hidden at a safe house or rented business premises there for several years.