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"Cheftaine Ngatai - Raure" and "Chef Ngatai - Raure
The New Zealand Herald reported on Wednesday that two Gottfried Lindauer paintings that were stolen in 2017 and worth about $490,000 US ($800,000 NZD) were given back to the police through a secret deal set up by top gang . In 1884, the Czech-New Zealand artist made portraits of Chieftainess Ngatai-Raure and Chief Ngatai-Raure. In April 2017, just a few days before they were to be sold, the art was stolen from the International Art Centre gallery and sale house in a "smash-and-grab" crime. Before putting the two paintings in a white sedan, the thieves backed a stolen van into the front window of the gallery and sale house. The paintings were two examples of Lindauer's many portraits of Mori people, from important people to regular people. In March, a portrait of Harawira Te Mahikai, chief of the Ngti Kahungunu Tribe, sold at sale for almost $615,000 US ($1,009,008 NZD, including fees).
Last December, New Zealand police said that Chieftainess Ngatai-Raure and Chief Ngatai-Raure had been returned with only slight damage. The Herald says that cops were "deliberately vague" about what happened to the portraits, only saying that "an intermediary who tried to return the paintings on behalf of others" tried to get them back to their owners. At a press meeting in December, Detective Inspector Scott Beard said, "This is good news to me." "When you get interested in an investigation, you want to find a solution. We never gave up hope because we knew how important and valuable these paintings were to culture. And now they've come back to us." "We're still hoping that someone will come forward with information that will help us figure out who broke in and stole these paintings." The Herald reported on June 7 that the two stolen Lindauer portraits were returned thanks to an agreement with two high-level criminals. However, their names will never be known because the country's Court of Appeal issued "wide-ranging suppression orders" to hide them. "Strict non-publication orders" also keep people from talking about how the Lindauer works were returned to police in a safe way.
Selena Mattei 
