NELSPRUIT – A Salvador Dali etching is one of three pieces of art that were stolen from the Mbombela Municipality art gallery this week.
According to Mbombela Municipality spokesperson, Ms Bessie Pienaar, the theft of Dali’s etching titled Sorcieres an Balia (Witches with broom), Tinus de Jongh’s Entrance to Leeuwenhof and Margaret Chilton’s Coloured Circles, was discovered on Tuesday.
“The gallery’s interim curator, Ms Marietjie Henning, only noticed that these pieces were missing upon closing the gallery on Tuesday, August 6. At this stage it is still unclear when they had been stolen,” Pienaar said on Thursday. Pienaar explained that there was no sign of forced entry into the gallery.
“The gallery is open from 08:00 to 16:00 daily and is kept under surveillance by two security guards and CCTV cameras,” Pienaar explained. “The council will most definitely be increasing security measures.”
The total value of the missing pieces is estimated to be around R110 000, with the Salvador Dali etching valued over R100 000, Tinus de Jongh’s Entrance to Leeuwenhof – also an etching – at R8000 and Margaret Chilton’s Coloured Circles, an original handmade tile, at R1500.
