Norwegian gallery lost Rembrandt in the mail

The Norwegian art gallery lost an engraving of Rembrandt, costing up to $ 8600, sending the work by mail. Thus, the gallery tried to save money on paying for the courier and insurance costs.

The Soli Brug Gallery in the Norwegian city of Griker, about 80 kilometers south of Oslo, acquired Rembrandt’s engraving, Lieven Willemsz, van Callpen, Master of Calligraphy (Lieven Willemsz, van Coppenol, Writing-Master), dating from about 1658, in Britain. For privacy reasons, the seller’s name was not disclosed. “Due to the fact that using a courier and paying special insurance would be quite expensive for the gallery, we still use the postal system,” said gallery director Ole Derje. The lost work is valued at 40,000 - 50,000 kroons ($ 6,900 - $ 8,600). The postal service offers compilation galleries in the amount of 500-1000 kroons.

Derye explained that his gallery, which exhibits the works of Dürer, Rembrandt, Goya, Dali and Munch, received a notification about the need to pick up the package at the post office. But when the representative of the gallery turned to the post office, the package disappeared without a trace.

“We regret that this happened, but we would advise in such cases to use a more appropriate form of delivery of objects of art,” said Hilde Ebeltof-Skaugrad, representative of the postal service.

Anna Sidorova