Candlesticks valued at £2,000 stolen from Petworth antique dealer

The Regency period glass and gilded lustre candlesticks are worth around £2,000 and now Tony Wilkinson is calling on colleagues in the trade and members of the public to help him find them.

He believes they were stolen from his shop T G Wilkinson Antiques in Market Square last Monday (January 23).

“Whether the thief had been in the shop before, seen them and returned I don’t know,” he said, “but it was a classic case of shop lifting.

“My assistant was distracted as another genuine customer was paying for something. The lustres were in another room and the thief took the opportunity to take them.”

Mr Wilkinson believes they were stolen at around 3.15pm last Monday by a man described as ‘a tall middle aged white male with close cropped grey hair.’

The lustres are dated around 1820 and are 27cms tall with oval bases and deep cutting in a strawberry pattern.

He said West Sussex police have been notified of the theft. The crime reference number is 47170011240.

Anyone with information should contact police by calling 101 or emailing [email protected]

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