Argentine Police recover stolen museum art in Buenos Aires

The Argentine Federal Police (PFA) have recovered two historical pieces stolen from the National Museum of Decorative Arts in March 2022. The recovery took place during a raid on a commercial premises in the Flores neighborhood of Buenos Aires.

The recovered items include a 17th-century oil painting titled ‘San José’, attributed to the Spanish artist Bartolomé Murillo, and a pair of late 19th to early 20th-century opera binoculars featuring mother-of-pearl and gold inlays.

The investigation began after the museum's former director reported that items had been taken from a forced display case in the ‘Matías Errázuriz Alvear’ bedroom antechamber. Authorities identified the binoculars being offered for sale in Flores, which led to the judicial authorization for the raid that successfully located both pieces.