Unidentified person hands stolen artwork by Jean Siméon Chardin to Culture Ministry

An unidentified individual last month handed stolen still life artwork by French painter Jean Siméon Chardin to the Georgian Culture Ministry, the body said on Wednesday, after the painting was returned to Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts in Tbilisi. 

The exhibit was stolen in 1994 along with Lucas Cranach’s Matchmaker and Jacob van Ruisdael’s Waterfall. However, the latter two were recovered shortly, the body said, and stressed the authenticity of the artwork had been approved by Irakli Parjiani Artwork Research and Expertise Laboratory.