Italy’s art police recover lost Picasso given as anonymous gift, then forgotten

ROME – Italy’s art police say they have recovered a lost Picasso painting, “Violin et Bouteille de Bass,” that was given to a picture framer as a gift in 1978 and then forgotten.

The Carabinieri on Friday unveiled the painting and two antiquities that were recovered last year and were together valued at 30 million euros ($32.5 million).

Police said an unknown elderly man gave the framer the Picasso as a thank-you gesture. The framer forgot about it until recently.

The painting’s provenance is under investigation.

Another recovered piece was a 3rd century marble sculpture of a man fighting a bull that was destined for the illicit antiquities market in Switzerland. Police intercepted the truck carrying the sculpture and then located the archaeological site in Tarquinia where it was dug up.