A 16th-century relief stolen in Navarra turns up at a Barcelona auction

The piece depicts San Buenaventura and measures 81 centimetres high, 45.5 wide, and 10 deep. It was part of the main altar at the Monasterio de Santa Clara de Fitero, from where it was taken before disappearing from known records for years.

The gilded and polychrome relief is linked to the circle of the sculptor Juan de Anchieta. Its authorship, age, and state of preservation made it especially attractive to collectors and dealers specialising in religious art.

The investigation made it possible to reconstruct part of its journey. After the theft, the piece is believed to have passed through the Rastro de Madrid and several hands before reaching Barcelona, where it was acquired by an auction house from a private individual.

Police detected the relief as it was about to be put up for sale and began to check its provenance. Analysis of the documentation and comparison with theft records confirmed that it was the missing work from Fitero.

Once its origin was verified, the piece was handed over to the parish priest responsible for the church, representing the Archidiócesis de Pamplona y Tudela. The monastery thus recovers an important fragment of its main altarpiece and its artistic memory.

The case highlights the difficulties in tracing old works that change owners and cities without complete documentation. Auction houses, antique dealers, and private buyers play a key role in checking the provenance of pieces before bringing them to market.

The recovery leaves an unusual image: a sculpture that left a Navarrese monastery, passed through Madrid, and ended up appearing years later in Barcelona. Its return shows that even works missing for a long time can come back to their place of origin when the documentary trail can be reconstructed.