The Carl Milles statue Solglitter in Trelleborg has been reported missing.
It is the second time in a short time that something similar has happened.
Now the municipality suspects that an artificial league is behind it.
– I conclude that we have a league that looks up this type of art in the outdoor environment and sees a value and business idea in taking them, says Trelleborg’s urban environment manager Kristoffer Tonning to Trelleborg’s Allehanda.
On Monday morning, staff at Trelleborg’s municipality discovered that the famous Carl Milles statue, Solglitter, had disappeared from its place outside the bathhouse in the center of the city.
The thieves had unscrewed the statue and carried it away, report among others Trelleborg’s Allehanda.
Exactly when the theft took place is not known.
– Someone or a few people have removed the statue from the plinth in the basin and swept away the work of art, says Trelleborg’s urban environment manager Kristoffer Tonning in a press release and continues:
– Our staff discovered that it was missing at half past ten today.
According to Trelleborgs Allehanda, the statue is valued at between 1.5 and 2 million kroner.
The incident has now been reported to the police, the municipality writes in a press release on its website, and at the same time appeals to the public to contact the police if they have seen or know anything.
Esamples were stolen from Gävle
It is not the first time something like this has happened. Earlier this year, a copy of Solglitter was stolen from the hospital area in Gävle.
The municipality now suspects that it is an artificial league that is behind the statue coup.
– I conclude that we have a league that looks up this type of art in an outdoor environment and sees a value and business idea in taking them, says Kristoffer Tonning to Trelleborg’s Allehanda.
The Solglitter statue, also called Najad på delfin, was created by the artist Carl Milles in 1917.
The statue is made in several copies in different sizes and can be found in several other places besides Millesgården in Stockholm. Trelleborg’s example was inaugurated in 1951.