Rodin statue 'unlocated' in Scottish collections

GLASGOW

A statue by French sculptor Auguste Rodin, part of his famous "Les Bourgeois de Calais" group, is currently "unlocated" in Glasgow's art collections, museum officials said on Monday.

The plaster sculpture, purchased by Glasgow Museum from the artist in 1901, was exhibited in Kelvingrove Park between June 25 and September 30, 1949, according to Glasgow Life, the organization in charge of many of the Scottish city's cultural venues. But since then, it seems to have been lost.

According to the Comite Rodin, which maintains a catalogue of the artist's works around the world, the two-meter sculpture represents "Jean d'Aire," one of the figures in the Calais group, its director Jerome Le Blay told AFP.

The disappearance is "regrettable, but must be put into the context of the times," as plaster works did not arouse much interest in the 1940s, he said.

The value of the work today would be around 3 million pounds (3.5 million euros), he estimated.

The bronze statues of the six "Bourgeois de Calais", celebrating the sacrifice of these local dignitaries during a siege of the northern French town by English armies during the Hundred Years' War, were commissioned by the municipality and unveiled in 1895.

Numerous bronze and plaster versions of the statue exist around the world.

The missing statue had "suffered damage" at the time of the 1949 open-air exhibition, according to Glasgow Life.

Comite Rodin believes it could therefore have suffered the same fate as another statue by the artist representing John the Baptist, which was exhibited at the same time at Kelvingrove.

That broke, and its remains are stored at the Glasgow Museum Resource Center.

Le Blay hopes that the remains of the "unlocated" piece may similarly be found in the archives at a later date.

Around 1,750 other objects have disappeared from Scottish museums, including gold coins linked to Queen Mary I of Scotland, who reigned in the 16th century, according to The Times newspaper.

The British Museum also recently acknowledged the theft of thousands of items from its reserves, prompting the resignation of its director.

Museum Wales, the institution managing seven national museums in Wales, has also discovered that it is missing 2,000 objects, according to the BBC.

The organization claims many of the items may simply have been misplaced or misclassified and that they could be found as the inventory check progresses.