Lloyd's offers six-figure reward to recover £40m Leonardo painting stolen from castle

Insurance investigators have offered a "substantial reward" for information on the theft of a Leonardo da Vinci painting estimated to be worth £40m from a Scottish castle.

In one of the most serious art thefts in Britain, Madonna with the Yarnwinder was taken from Drumlanrig Castle in Dumfries and Galloway on Wednesday. An expert from Lloyd's said yesterday that he was confident of getting the painting back.

It is believed to have been painted between 1500 and 1510, and depicts the Madonna with the infant Jesus holding a cross-shaped yarnwinder. The work was stolen in its frame by four men after two of them, posing as visitors, overpowered a female guide at the home of the Duke of Buccleuch. They escaped in a white Volkswagen Golf GTi, which was later found abandoned in woods near by.

Mark Dalrymple, a fine art loss adjuster working for Lloyd's, said the company was prepared to pay a six-figure sum to get the painting back. "We are offering a substantial reward for information leading to the recovery of this painting," Mr Dalrymple said. "The exact figure will depend on the circumstances and the information received. We are not prepared to divulge the exact value of the painting or the exact amount of the money being offered as a reward but it is fair to say it could be as much as six figures."

Mr Dalrymple led the search for two Turner paintings stolen in Frankfurt, which were recovered last December, and a Titian painting stolen from the Longleat estate in Wiltshire and recovered last August. He said he was confident the stolen Leonardo would eventually turn up. "There is no way this painting can be sold on the open market as it is too well known.

"Although it is fairly small it is unlikely to have left the country or been moved very far at all," he said. "At the most it might perhaps go to Europe if the thieves think they can get a buyer who won't ask any questions, but that is unlikely."

Mr Dalrymple said he doubted the painting, which is 19in by 15.5in (48cm by 39cm) had been "stolen to order" and suspected the thieves were opportunists hoping to sell it for ready cash. "In the 30 years I have been doing this I have never come across a Dr No-type figure willing to order a stolen painting to hang in some secret art collection. Criminals with the money to do that are just as able to go along to an auction house and buy their art legitimately. Unless they are psychologically deranged these thefts are carried out by criminals for money and they are going to want to sell it.

"I have little doubt they will take care of the painting as they think of it as an asset and I am sure we will get it back eventually," said Mr Dalrymple who likened the theft to that of the Mona Lisa in 1911.

"It's only a question of time. We waited 10 years for the recovery of the Turner, seven years to recover the Titian.

"This painting is too valuable to destroy, it will turn up somewhere, somehow."

The Duke of Buccleuch's son, Richard Dalkeith, said: "This morning we woke to a feeling of emptiness and dismay as it began to sink in that the painting has gone. This is a treasure that has been in my family for more than 250 years.

"It's the most beautiful work of art by one of the greatest painters in the world.

"It is a work of such peace and beauty and the thought of it being sort of torn away from us like this is very sad indeed."

Descriptions of the thieves have been passed to Interpol. Inspector Phil Stewart of Dumfries and Galloway Police said he believed the thieves had been to the castle before and added that there was a "certain amount" of CCTV footage, which was being examined.

Insp Stewart said: "These people may have been here before and visited the premises, and that is a thing I want to reinforce. Anyone who has been at Drumlanrig Castle over the last two or three weeks or month and has noticed anyone acting suspiciously or recognises the description of this vehicle please contact us."

Drumlanrig Castle is the home of the Duke of Buccleuch, one of the wealthiest men in Scotland. He has one of the finest private art collections in Britain, including works by Rembrandt and Holbein as well as by Sir Godfrey Kneller, Caspar Netscher and Thomas Gainsborough.The collection is on public display much of the year, allowing visitors to the castle to view them at close quarters during a tour of the principal rooms.