Police are appealing for help to recover a missing 285-year-old violin after it was allegedly stolen from a London pub.
Detectives have been trying to find the instrument since 18 February, when the violin, valued at more than £150,000, went missing from the Marquess Tavern on Canonbury Street. The victim reported the theft to the Metropolitan police that evening.
It has previously been reported that David López Ibáñez, of the Philharmonia Orchestra, had been dining with a friend when the violin disappeared from his side. It had been loaned to him by a German businessman who wanted to help his career.
Ibáñez told the BBC that his “life was torn apart” after realising it was gone. He added: “Your heart feels like it’s going to explode.”
PC Michael Collins, from the Met’s local policing team in Camden, said on Monday: “We … are releasing this CCTV in an effort to help identify them as soon as possible. The victim, who is a member of London’s Philharmonia Orchestra, has told us the piece is worth more than £150,000 and was made in Florence in 1740.
“It is incredibly precious, and for the victim, it’s priceless. Please help us find the person responsible and have the violin returned it to its rightful owner.”
The violin, made by Lorenzo Carcassi, was “generously” loaned to Ibáñez to help him perform at major concerts with the Philharmonia. Also stolen were three bows, one with a mother of pearl tip.
The alleged theft of the musical instrument has echoes of the disappearance of a 1696 Stradivarius worth £1.2m and two bows with a combined value of £67,000 from Euston station in 2010.
The theft prompted a public appeal for help and the release of CCTV on BBC’s Crimewatch. A man was jailed for four and a half years at Blackfriars crown court for the theft in 2011.
There was a false lead suggesting the violin might be in Bulgaria – but that instrument turned out to be a replica training instrument. The real violin was eventually found at a property in the Midlands – intact with some “very minor” damage.
