Gold box recovered 19 years after Waddesdon Manor theft

A gold box stolen in the June 2003 Waddesdon Manor raid has been found and returned after being identified by the Art Loss Register (ALR).

The theft took place at the Rothschild house and garden in Buckinghamshire when a masked group broke into the house and stole more than 100 gold boxes and other precious objects. The stolen items were mainly 18^th-century French pieces and very few have since been recovered.

In August 2021, the box was identified during due diligence checks by the ALR when it was presented for sale at a UK auction house. The register is the world’s largest private database of stolen, looted and disputed art and antiques.

The gold box is a French bonbonniere, dated 1775-1781 and made in Paris. Small circular boxes of this type were kept as personal accessories and used for sweets. The box features a miniature of an unknown woman holding a basket of roses on its lid and is decorated with gold piqué stars, with a tortoiseshell interior.

Upon identifying the item, the ALR alerted staff at Waddesdon, who checked images and other details to confirm that it was one of the stolen boxes. The ALR also notified the auction house and Thames Valley Police for further investigation, given the seriousness of the theft and the fact that many of the other stolen items remain missing.

The box has now returned to Waddesdon and will go on display from 27 April in the Rothschild Treasury, a gallery that houses more than 300 objects made from rare and precious materials, acknowledging the Rothschild family’s history as collectors.

The box was acquired by Alice de Rothschild (1847-1922). She inherited Waddesdon Manor and its contents from her brother, Ferdinand de Rothschild (1839-1898), who built the manor in the style of a 16-century French chateau.

Waddesdon is marking the centenary of Alice’s death with Alice’s Wonderlands, a programme of exhibitions and displays which highlight her role in the manor’s history. Waddesdon was bequeathed to the National Trust in 1957 to ensure its preservation for future generations.

Pippa Shirley, director of collections, historic properties and landscapes at Waddesdon, said: “I am absolutely delighted that this box has returned, and very grateful to the ALR for its part in its successful recovery. The 2003 theft was deeply traumatic for everyone at Waddesdon – I remember it vividly – and this feels such a positive outcome and gives us hope that the other boxes may yet come back to us.

“It is also such a happy coincidence that it should reappear in the year in which we are celebrating Alice de Rothschild and her extraordinary contribution to the collections here.”

Lucy O’Meara, an expert on country house thefts and recovery specialist at the ALR, said: “I am thrilled to see the box returned to Waddesdon Manor. It is an honour to assist in returning a small part of the house’s cultural history to its rightful place and I am hopeful that the remaining boxes will be reunited with the National Trust collection very soon.”