Stolen artefacts returned following attempted eBay sale

Ealing Council in London has had two items stolen from its collection returned thanks to the help of members of the public, an antique dealer and art recovery specialists.

Both items – a Wally Bird tobacco jar and the Barrister Jug – were part of the council’s Martinwear pottery collection, created by the Martin Brothers in their Southall pottery studio between 1873 and 1923.

The Wally Bird was one of 13 items stolen from Southall Library in 2013. Two years later, and the council suffered another lost with the theft of 27 items, including the jug, from Pitzhanger Manor House & Gallery.

As far as it is known, the crimes were separate and no one has ever been caught.

In autumn 2020, a local man contacted the council’s archivist, Jonathon Oates, to tell him that his son had spotted a Wally Bird for sale for £30,000 on eBay. Despite contacting the police, the council was unable to recover the item and it was later removed from the selling site.

However, an antique dealer in Oxfordshire was contacted by the same eBay seller offering her the opportunity to buy the jar for £15,000. Concerned about the lack of provenance, she contacted Christopher Marinello from Art Recovery International and he tracked down the seller.

The police were able to recover the item and, after its identity was confirmed through an inscribed name and date, it was returned to the library.

A few months later, Marinello contacted Oates again to let him know he had managed to track down the stolen Barrister’s Jug and it was now in his possession. Oates was able to collect the item and bring it back to the collection.

Oates, who is also a true crime writer, has made a YouTube film explaining the story behind the recovery of the Wally Bird.

He says he is hopeful that other items stolen from the collection will be returned in due course.

Both items were part of an insurance claim settled after the incidents occurred, and the insurer, Zurich, has said it will waive the requirement for the original settlement to be paid back “as a gesture to the council and people of Ealing”.

Paul Redington, a regional major loss manager in Zurich’s Property Expert team, also warned that museum thefts on are the rise by opportunist criminals and organised gangs.

 “Unfortunately, claims relating to antiquities are on the increase,” he added. “Claims experience shows that those perpetrating these thefts are often involved in other crimes, and the money generated is ploughed into other illicit activity.”