Argentine police have recovered an 18th century painting, originally stolen from a Dutch Jewish art collector, over a week after it appeared in a property ad but then couldn’t be found, investigators said today.

Prosecutors said that Portrait of a Lady by Italian baroque portraitist Giuseppe Ghislandi, which was photographed hanging in the home of the daughter of a senior World War II SS officer, had been returned by the woman’s lawyer.

Art expert Ariel Bassano, who worked on the case, told reporters it was “in good condition for its age, as it dates from 1710”.

He was quoted by the local La Capital Mar del Plata newspaper as valuing it at “around US$50,000 ($85,000)”.

The painting was recognised last month by the Dutch newspaper AD in photographs of a house for sale in the seaside resort of Mar del Plata.

The painting of a noblewoman could be seen hanging above a green sofa in the living room of Patricia Kadgien, daughter of SS financial guru Friedrich Kadgien who fled to Argentina after the war.

It was among over 1000 artworks stolen from Amsterdam art dealer Jacques Goudstikker by the Nazis during World War II.

The discovery generated a flurry of excitement on both sides of the Atlantic.

But no sooner had it been identified than it disappeared again.

When Argentine police went to raid the premises they found no trace of the artwork.

Kadgien and her husband were placed under house arrest yesterday after several failed police searches for the portrait.

– Agence France-Presse