Statement of Viennas Museum of Art History regarding theft of Cellinis saliera

VIENNA 12. 5. 2003 - (ots/PROTEXT) - Viennas Museum of ArtHistory is regrettably obliged to disclose news of a burglary atone of its rooms in the painting gallery during the night from10-11 May 2003, resulting in the theft of Benvenuto Cellinisfamous salt-cellar, the saliera, which was taken from a glassdisplay cabinet.

Preliminary indications are that one or more of theperpetrators managed to get into the first floor via thescaffolding erected next to the front of the building in theLastenstrasse, destroying windows and the glass of the cabinetin the process, and evading the theatres monitoring andsurveillance facilities.

The theatre is equipped with a state-of-the-art alarm systemfeaturing movement sensors and CCTV.

The burglar alarm, however, was recorded as going off bymuseum security. An internal investigation is currently beingheld to discover whether, and if so why, security guards wereapparently so late in responding to the alarm call. The museumis manned around the clock with security staff, with three guardsoccupying the night watch and carrying out patrols to ensure thesecurity of the building at regular intervals.

The saliera was on display in the museums Raffael Room justin front of the Madonna in green. It is deemed to be one of themost significant works of art from the Renaissance period, andthe only surviving piece by Benvenuto Cellini. Because itconsists of thin gold foil, its face value is considered to berelatively low.

Since the object is irreplaceable, no information wasforthcoming on the value for which it had been insured bybrokers UNIQA.

The museum is offering a reward of EUR 70,000 (some USD75,000) for any information or indications leading to theapprehension of the criminal(s) responsible.

ots Original Text Service: Kunsthistorisches Museum WienInternet: http://www.presseportal.de

For any further questions, please contact the museums PRofficer Anita Mader at: Kunsthistorisches Museum

Mag. AnitaMader Abtlg. für Öffentlichkeitsarbeit und Presse

Tel.: (+431) 525 24/404 mailto:info.pr@khm.at, http://www.khm.at ~

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