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Police say the theft of a previously unknown Charles Goldie portrait of a Maori woman is likely to remain a mystery unless they get an unexpected breakthrough.
The theft took place while the owners of the portrait, which could be worth more than $100,000, had their Mosgiel home on the market.
One of the main problems for police was the wide time frame during which the painting could have been taken - February until July, Senior Constable David Leonard, of Mosgiel police, told NZPA today.
"We didn't have an idea where the Goldie could have gone, so we put it out to people in the know, art dealers and that sort of thing with the hope that if it (the painting) turns up then they'll be the ones that can identify it and hopefully help us out.
"But at this stage we've heard nothing.
"If it's out there somewhere it's being well hidden."
Mr Leonard said that if the painting was taken early in the period it could well have been taken out of the country because at that stage nobody was looking for it.
"Other people have told me that if it's still in the country, then you might not see it for another 15 to 20 years if someone's got it for their private collection," he said.
"It's very difficult, we've just got to sit back and hope that at some stage somebody's going to say this could be it, and see how we got from there."
Mr Leonard said it was not particularly well known that the couple had the painting - a head and shoulders portrait of a Maori woman looking back over her shoulder.
She has a moko and her hair tied back. The painting was about 24cm by 18cm in an oval, wooden frame.
The painting had been in the family for more than 60 years and had been given to a family member by the artist shortly before his death.
It had never been valued for insurance purposes, nor was there a photograph available.
Charles Frederick Goldie, 1870-1947, is one of New Zealand's best known and most controversial painters.
He was famous for his precise, detailed portraits of Maori wearing moko.
In July, when the painting was reported missing, Roger Blackley, Victoria University senior art history lecturer and author of a book about Goldie, said paintings by the artist were a popular choice with art thieves.
"There's a long history of thefts of Goldie paintings," he said.
"They go on holiday quite regularly."
Mr Blackley said the Mosgiel painting sounded like a work from earlier in Goldie's career.
While it was difficult to assess its value without seeing it, a similarly sized painting from the early 1920s had sold recently for more than $100,000.
- NZPA
