Stolen Baroque statue of Pontius Pilate on Římov pilgrimage route comes home

A rare wooden Baroque statue of Pontius Pilate stolen 17 years ago from Římov chapel, that forms part of the local Stations of the Cross, is coming home. Heritage experts tracked it down in Spain.

The early Baroque polychromed woodcarving was stolen from the Římov Stations of the Cross in May of 2009. Římov parish priest Jakub Václav Zentner recalls the day it disappeared.

Jakub Václav Zentner|Photo: Zdeněk Zajíček, Czech Radio

“They stole the statue on a rainy day, taking advantage of the fact that the chapel was deserted and no one was outside to witness the theft. They must have loaded it into a van and made off with it.”

The Baroque statue, dated at around 1680, could not have been easy to steal. It is lifesize - 180 centimetres tall -and depicts Pilate in the armour of the Roman legions. However during that period thieves of sacral monuments were very active. Borders had opened and it was easy to smuggle and sell the statues abroad. Altogether nineteen statues disappeared from chapels in Římov; experts have so far managed to recover only seven.

According to Eva Löw from the National Heritage Institute, their recovery is the result of long-term cooperation between heritage experts, police and foreign partners.

Photo: National Heritage Institute

“Colleagues routinely search foreign auction portals — going through 500, 600, 700 items — and they know the stolen artefacts inside out. In this case, we have exceptionally detailed documentation. A colleague kept searching and, quite by chance, found the statue,” she says.

The wooden Baroque statue passed through several private collections, travelling through Spain and Italy. “Spanish police were alerted by their Czech counterparts and were extremely cooperative in securing its return.

JIří Vácha|Photo: Jitka Cibulová Vokatá, Czech Radio

Given its long absence, transport and inexpert handling the statue is in surprisingly good condition.

According to Jiří Vácha, curator of the České Budějovice Bishopric collections, the statue was unprofessionally restored at some point, apparently in preparation for sale, but did not suffer significant damage.

“We can see many retouches alongside original polychromy that has been well preserved. Even damaged areas that had exposed the wood have been retouched so that the statue appears whole. That is unique, because statues are often kept in unsuitable conditions and deteriorate quickly,” he explains.

After the theft of the statues of Pilate and Jesus Christ in 2009, the statues were replaced with a photographic panel|Photo: Diocese of České Budějovice

From Easter onwards, visitors will be able to see Pontius Pilate at the Museum of Pilgrimage in Římov. During the restoration of the Římov Stations of the Cross between 2021 and 2023, the stolen statues were replaced with copies, which were made based on photo documentation and are quite faithful when compared to the originals.

However, the Bishopric hopes that one day it will get all the originals back in their place.

In the future, artificial intelligence could help with the search scanning national and international databases of stolen artefacts which contain tens of thousands of entries.

The Římov pilgrimage route, which has been a national cultural monument since 2018, was established in the 17th century. At that time, as many as 80,000 pilgrims from Bohemia and Austria visited the site every year.

The Way of the Cross in Římov|Photo: Zdeněk Zajíček, Czech Radio