Hundreds of Mozart Miniatures Stolen from Salzburg Tribute Exhibition

In Salzburg, the Mozarteum Foundation set up a garden exhibition of 320 tiny gold statuettes portraying Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with his dog Pimperl, marking the composer’s 270th birthday. Within a fortnight more than 80 figures disappeared, and by Wednesday a total of 210 were reported missing. German conceptual artist Ottmar Hörl, who created the pieces, said he suspects an organized theft rather than individual visitors taking them.

Each statue was intended to sell for roughly 100 euros after the exhibit, meaning the loss does not translate into a fortune for the culprits. The stolen works were displayed across the composer’s former residence, his living quarters, and several pavilons, and the manufacturer was unavailable to replace them. The remaining statues are now spaced farther apart, with the display scheduled to run through August 30. Hörl noted similar thefts have occurred before, citing a prior robbery of his Wagner statues in Bayreuth.