Italy probe into 1997 theft of Klimt’s Portrait of a Woman reopened

More than 17 years since it was stolen from a gallery in northern Italy, Gustav Klimt's Portrait of a Woman is reportedly once again the subject of a police inquiry after technological advances led to the case being reopened.

The oil painting, believed to date from 1916-1917, was stolen from the Ricci-Oddi gallery in Piacenza in February 1997 and disappeared without a trace.

Now, thanks to more sophisticated testing of the frame, investigators hope new test results will provide a DNA match with one or more suspects, the Italian news agency Ansa said.

The police investigation seemed to have stalled after the theft, which appeared to be timed to coincide with renovation work, in advance of which many works were removed from the gallery.

Detectives were unable to say whether the thief - or thieves - came in through the main entrance or had used a string and hook to fish the painting through a nearby skylight.

All that was left was an empty frame with a partial fingerprint which police now hope will yield an answer. The work, acquired by the collection in 1925, was thought to be too famous to sell.