Egg Letter Box returned unscrambled

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Egg Letter Box returned unscrambled

It began as a fun art commission for a Canberra artist and ended in a high-profile London police investigation, provoking a British media frenzy and the eventual return of the brazenly stolen artwork.

Award-winning designer Benjamin Shine had been invited to decorate a two foot (61-centimetre) egg sculpture for the Faberge Big Egg Hunt charity exhibition and auction for which 200 giant eggs decorated by artists and celebrities were hidden across London.

Playing on the iconic British post box, Shine's Egg Letter Box was an instant hit with organisers and awarded a prime location for public exhibition in Carnaby Street.

Speaking from his O'Malley studio Shine said the eggs were displayed early one morning last week. ''So Londoners woke up to a big surprise, with these eggs all over London. They were hanging in buildings, they were in shop windows, in train stations, all sorts of unusual places,'' he said.

Shine's piece became an instant smash hit, garnering comments of admiration on the event's website. But last week, in a rotten move, Egg Letter Box was ripped from its plinth and poached.

''Naturally I was pretty disappointed to hear my design had been stolen,'' he said. ''But my initial disbelief soon turned to amazement as my email inbox began to fill with requests for media interviews to help build awareness and support for the egg's safe return.'' Within days the missing egg was being reported on the BBC and ITV. Shine's phone rang hot as he gave interviews including to London's Crimestoppers who asked for a description.

''I said he's two-foot tall, he's bright red, and he's a bit portly. I said it would be great to get the CCTV of someone running off with an egg under their jacket,'' Shine said.

The lighthearted approach worked as social media and radio callers expressed outrage. ''Someone realised they were holding on to seriously wanted stolen goods, too hot to handle, so decided to give it back and it was left outside Liberty's department store which is a stone's throw away from where its plinth was located,'' he said.

The egg was handed over to police who had to admit they hadn't cracked the case, and will be reinstalled on its plinth tomorrow after some minor repairs. Shine said the egg would be driven to its site in a Royal Mail van, by postal workers who had adopted it as a mascot.

Egg Letter Box and the other 200 eggs will be sold at Sotheby's auction on March 20 to raise £2 million ($2.98 million) in funds for the Elephant Family and Action for Children charities. To see the other egg-cellent artworks, visit http://www.thebigegghunt.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



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