BRITAIN: Police were last night hunting thieves who, posing as visitors, stole a Leonardo da Vinci painting from the estate of one of Scotland's richest land-owners.
Two men stole the painting, Madonna with the Yarnwinder, thought to be valued at £25 million, from Drumlanrig Castle in Scotland after overpowering a female castle guide.
The castle, in Dumfries and Galloway, is owned by the Duke of Buccleuch and contains one of the finest art collections in the UK, housing masterpieces by Leonardo, Rembrandt and Holbein.
The theft took place about 11 a.m. yesterday when the men, posing as visitors, overpowered the guide, removed the picture from the wall and escaped with it by car.
The painting had been purchased in Italy in the 18th century by the third Duke of Buccleuch and had only been conclusively identified as a work by the Renaissance master in 1986 following scientific tests.
The original painting was once thought to have been lost in France, but experts have since said that the figures and the foreground rocks were da Vinci's own work.
The creation was intended for Florimond Robertet, secretary to the King of France at the time.
It shows the child holding the yarnwinder, shaped like a cross, said to symbolise the Passion and future death of Christ.