If only these birds could speak – maybe they could say who stole them

The antique Martinware ‘Wally Birds’ almost look as if they might speak. If only they could. A few of the valuable pieces, made of glazed pottery, along with grotesque jugs with strange human faces, bizarre goblins, toadlike ‘spoon warmers’ and some other Martinware ceramics, disappeared from two properties in London’s Ealing Council over 20 years ago. Crafted mainly by the eldest of four brothers in the late 1800s, Robert Wallace Martin, the brothers’ business was considered ‘almost comically uncommercial’ during their lifetimes, according to the Financial Times, which notes that their ceramics have jumped in value in recent years.

Zurich Municipal is delighted with the recent recoveries of a few of those stolen Martinware figures. While Ealing Council is no longer a customer, Zurich Municipal did insure the council when the thefts occurred, but waived repayment of the claim settlement, even after three of the over 30 stolen items were recovered. As stolen goods are often found hiding in plain sight, online, it is possible that with the help of public and experts, more might resurface in the future.

“You sometimes think these things are lost forever. We close a file, and that is generally the end of the story. To see objects recovered, and even better, to play a small part in returning them back where they belong is tremendously rewarding,” says Paul Redington, a senior claims adjuster in Zurich UK’s major loss team.

While Zurich wasn’t involved directly in the Martinware recoveries, in another case involving stolen art, Zurich played a central role. That was the recovery of the ’Wenlock’ bronze jug. Valued at over GBP 1 million, dating back to the 14th century, Zurich helped to restore it to its owner, Luton Council, after the insurer offered a reward.

The jug might have been lost forever, perhaps even destined to be melted down for scrap, until police and Zurich got involved. The theft in 2012, captured on closed-circuit camera, gained high public awareness when it was featured on the popular British ‘Crimewatch’ TV show. The jug, inscribed ‘My Lord Wenlock,’ is closely associated with the Luton community north of London. Only two other such jugs are known to be in existence, both kept in highly secure major museums.

As the insurer of Luton Council, the police advised Zurich to take the unusual step of offering a reward for the jug’s safe return, which it did. “Insurers offer rewards sparingly, but it was appropriate in this case,” says Redington. Putting up rewards regularly may backfire as they risk incentivizing thefts. “If insurers did that routinely things could be stolen purely for the likely reward,” he says. But in the case of the Wenlock jug, Zurich’s decision to put up GBP 25,000 for information leading to a recovery resulted in a tip-off. The jug was recovered and restored to its rightful owners, to again be enjoyed by the community.

Spotting stolen art

The time it takes to recover stolen goods – if they are found at all – can be lengthy. There are still over 30 Martinware items missing that were taken from Ealing’s Southall Library in 2005 and another of its properties, Pitzhanger Manor, in 2007. But at least two birds and a jug have since turned up and been recovered.

Today it’s often intermediaries who flag thefts, like specialist antique dealers, and the go-betweens such as auction houses. It might also be alert members of the public that spot stolen art on e-commerce sites. “What is interesting is, that these items are coming up for sale, sporadically, either on e-commerce platforms, or through auction houses, and eagle-eyed people are spotting them,” says Redington.

As most of us know, today you can buy nearly anything online. That includes a ‘Rembrandt’ to be had for USD 69 on one e-commerce site, a price that requires buyers to allow time for the chosen masterpiece to be painted! But some art offered for sale on e-commerce sites is real. That was the case in 2020, when a Martinware ‘Wally Bird,’ looking very much like one stolen from Southall Library, was spotted online by an alert researcher, Nigel Wilson.

After checking with police, who thought it wasn’t the same bird, the figure turned up again when it was offered to an antiques dealer. The dealer became suspicious after the seller was unable to offer any information on the bird’s provenance. Upon further investigation, it turned out – contrary to what police had thought earlier – to be one of 11 birds stolen from Ealing. The figurines are in fact jars, as the heads can be taken off, and the body used to store tobacco.

Then, a few months after the Wally Bird was recovered, the same Nigel Wilson spotted another item possibly stolen from the Ealing collection, again on an e-commerce site. Christopher A. Marinello, a New York lawyer and expert in art recovery, worked without compensation for Ealing Council’s museums to negotiate the unconditional return of that piece from a London dealer. Marinello has recovered art by Matisse, Degas and Rodin, among other items including stolen watches, and even a rare automobile, according to the New York Times.

A third Martinware figure stolen from Ealing’s Pitzhanger Manor House in 2007 was recovered in 2023, again with the help of Wilson and Marinello, this time spotted in the catalogue of a regional auction house. The recovery of this figure was welcomed by Ealing Council. “We would like to extend our gratitude to the insurer Zurich. We are delighted that this Wally Bird statue has been returned to the borough nearly two decades after it was stolen,” said Councillor Poly Knewstub, an Ealing Council cabinet member, in an email. “The four brothers who created Martinware pottery are a cherished part of the borough’s cultural history.” Marinello also wrote to Zurich's Redington, stating that Zurich was “the real hero”, particularly as a small museum would have struggled to hand back the insurance payout.

Keeping art safer

With these episodes in mind, there are a few things that can be done to reduce the risks of thieves targeting valuable art, according to Redington and his team:

• Consider where the valuable pieces are displayed. Museums need to assess the location of the exhibit and then build layers of security protection around it.
• Install security equipment. That might include closed-circuit television cameras and alarm systems. It might also require upgrading security around doors, windows and display cases.
• Before commencing any new building work or refurbishment, ask your insurer to vet security of the plans, along with offering insights on fire and other risks.
• Take a detailed inventory. This is a must, including for the reasons cited below.

Inside jobs

“Hey, Joe! You happen to see any of those ancient gold coins lyin’ around anywhere lately?” “Nope. Ain’t seen ‘em.” The recognition that valuable art works have gone unaccountably missing must be any museum director’s worst nightmare. There have lately been well-publicized cases where employee theft is suspected at prominent museums in both the UK and Switzerland.

Losing any precious work of art, or artefacts, is a loss to everybody, including the public. It’s also a situation subject to lengthy (and possibly embarrassing) police investigations to even determine what might be missing. With that in mind, “it is important that museums have proper systems in place, to ensure robust inventory checks to help prevent that type of theft,” says Redington. “Even small museums need to do inventory and stock validation on a regular basis.”