Rembrandt Etching Lost in the Mail

Tags: Drawings, Etchings, Galleries, Norway, OMP, Rembrandt

A Norwegian gallery is being held responsible for the loss in the mail of a Rembrandt etching after it failed to use a special courier service and opted for the regular post instead.

The Soli Brug Gallery in Greaaker, some 50 miles south of Oslo, purchased the etching from a British dealer. However, the gallery’s chairman, Ole Derje, admitted that a courier or special insurance was too expensive for the gallery, and they had resorted to regular mail.

A spokesperson for the Norwegian post service lamented the loss but placed the ultimate blame on the gallery: ”We are sorry that this has happened; we have advised him to use a more appropriate form of mail when sending items that are worth as much as this with the appropriate insurance connected.”

The etching, a copy of Rembrandt’s Lieven Willemsz, van Coppenol, Writing-Master was valued at 40,000 to 50,000 crowns ($6,900-$8,600). The post service was offering compensation for 500-1,000 crowns.

[via Reuters]

Photos courtesy of Christie’s, Gunn White