Oscar Wilde's stolen ring found by Dutch 'art detective'

A golden ring once given as a present by famed Irish writer Oscar Wilde has been recovered by a Dutch "art detective" nearly 20 years after it was stolen from Britain's Oxford University. friendship ring, a joint gift from Wilde to a fellow student in 1876, was taken during a burglary in 2002 at Magdalen College, where legendary dandy studied. At time it was valued at 35,000 pounds (40,650 euros, $45,000). trinket's whereabouts remained a mystery for years and re were fears that ring-shaped like a belt and buckle and me from 18-carat gold -- h even been melted down. But Arthur Brand, a Dutchman dubbed "Indiana Jones of Art World" for recovering a series of high-profile stolen artworks, used his underworld connections to finally find it.

Re | 'It Is Creepy': Forget Annabelle, This Antique Doll Abigail Is Scaring Hell Out Of Netizens

Mark Blandford-Baker, home bursar of Magdalen College, said y were "very pleased to have back a stolen item that forms part of a collection relating to one of our more famous alumni." "We h given up hope of seeing it again," he told AFP. ring will be handed back "at a small ceremony" on December 4, said Blandford-Baker, ding "we are extremely grateful to Arthur Brand for finding it and returning it to us."

Re | CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Dehrun-based Businessman's Antique Collection Has 250 Different Cameras

ring was an important part of Magdalen's large collection of memorabilia 

ring was an important part of Magdalen's large collection of memorabilia related to Wilde, who penned classics such as " Picture of Dorian Gray" and " Importance of Being Earnest". It was a present from Wilde and fellow student Reginald Harding to ir friend William Ward in 1876 while Irishman was a student at Magdalen, one of three dozen colleges that make up Oxford University. ring bears inscription in Greek that says "Gift of love, to one who wishes love." It also has initials of: "OF OF WW + RRH to WWW" on inside. Disaster struck in 2002 when a former college cleaner named Eamonn Andrews broke into Magdalen, got drunk on whiskey from college bar, n stole ring and two unrelated medals. college at time offered a 3,500 pounds reward for ring's safe return -- but after he was caught, burglar told a court that he h sold golden band to a scrap dealer for 150 pounds. That might have been that, h Brand t picked up scent a few years back.

"Rumours started in 2015 in art underworld that a Victorian ring has surfaced 'with some Russian writing on it'," Brand told an AFP correspondent, who saw ring at an apartment in Amsterdam. "I knew that Oscar Wilde's ring was stolen from Magdalen College at Oxford and that it h a Greek inscription on it. It could have only been same ring," he said. 

Re | Vint Look: Home Decor Ideas To Get That Antique Vibe For Your House

Dutch art detectives Crump, Brand, and Veres traced ring

Dutchman n started to put out feelers. Toger with a London-based antiques dealer named William Veres, ir inquiries eventually led m to George Crump, a man whom Brand described as a "decent man with kwledge of London criminal underworld because of his late uncle, a well-kwn casi owner."  Through Crump, Brand and Veres finally mand to track down and negotiate safe return of stolen ring. Brand has previously hit helines for returning stolen artworks including a Picasso painting stolen from a yacht in France, and "Hitler's Horses", two bronze statues me by Nazi sculptor Joseph Thorak. And story of his latest find may have a final twist worthy of one of Wilde's tales. Wilde's ring may have never been discovered were it t for ar heist, when a gang of elderly criminals raided a vault in London's jewelry district in 2015 in what was described as "biggest burglary in English legal history." 

"re are very strong indications that appearance of ring is linked to 2015 burglary at Hatton Garden Safe Deposit. Rumors that ring has reappeared first started a few weeks after burglary," said Brand. "And I was given ring right in front of Hatton Garden Safe Deposit... which I thought was a bit of English humor."

Re | Antique Idol Returned Due To PM Modi's Efforts: TN Govt To HC