A worldwide hunt is under way to find a historic trophy worth £500,000 which has been stolen from a flagship Scots museum.
An alert has been flashed to Interpol and art houses across the globe over the theft in Glasgow last year.
However, museum operator Glasgow Life has only now confirmed the loss of the gold Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy from its Riverside Museum, by the Clyde, amid concerns it could be lost forever.
Lipton is one of the city’s best-known entrepreneurs, emerging from abject poverty in the Gorbals to build an international tea and grocery empire worth billions of pounds in today’s money.
The cup disappeared overnight from a presentation cabinet in the museum in October but officials said they withheld news of the heist on police advice, as they feared publicity may result in the precious item being melted down or trafficked out of the country. Six months on, there is no sign of the famous trophy.
It is just the latest high-profile theft from Glasgow’s museums. In 2023, it was revealed that a £3million sculpture by the renowned French artist Auguste Rodin had been lost.
The plaster version of Les Bourgeois de Calais was just one of 1,750 items which had gone missing from the city collections.
Jane Rowlands, head of museums and collections at Glasgow Life, said: ‘We are deeply saddened by the disgraceful theft of this important object from the city’s collection and recognise the strength of feeling it will provoke.
Tea tycoon Sir Thomas Lipton is one of the city’s best-known entrepreneurs
The famous Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy was stolen from the Riverside Museum
‘This is not only a loss for the museum, but a theft from the people of Glasgow, whose shared heritage our collections represent.
‘Since October, we have been supporting Police Scotland in their investigation to recover the item and have taken steps to review security measures across our museums.’
Ms Rowlands added: ‘We have also added it to the Art Loss Register – the world’s largest private database of stolen art – which will flag it to auction houses worldwide in an effort to prevent any attempted sale.’
Made by Tiffany and Co and valued at £490,000, the 18-carat gold cup is highly distinctive with two handles and a detachable domed lid, set atop a square silver plinth base.
It features a representation of the America’s Cup on an enamel shield depicting the American flag in red, white and blue.
Other recognisable decorations include enamel flags representing the Royal Ulster Yacht Club and Lipton’s last racing yacht, Shamrock V, as well as ornate gold ropework.
Museum operator Glasgow Life has only now confirmed the loss of the gold trophy
On each side of the silver base, in gold relief, are four symbols of Fraternity, Integrity, Courage and Perseverance.
Born in Crown Street in the Gorbals in 1848 to immigrants from Northern Ireland, Lipton was using a wheelbarrow from the age of ten to hawk simple food items collected from the crews of ships docked on the Clyde.
Fascinated by the life of a sailor, he took a job as a cabin boy on a steamer at the age of 15. Two years later, he had saved enough money for the passage to America and went on to make his fortune.
With the great wealth he amassed from tea and grocery stores, he splashed his cash on efforts to win the America’s Cup.
Despite losing five times, he was awarded the cup in 1930 and was later inducted into the America’s Cup Hall of Fame in 1993. Following Lipton’s death in 1931, the trophy in his name was gifted to the people of Glasgow by his trustees in 1932.
Detective Sergeant Bob Carrigan, from Police Scotland’s Community Investigation Unit in the city, said: ‘We received a report of a housebreaking and the theft of The Lipton Cup from a display case at Riverside Museum on Pointhouse Place in the city.
‘The incident happened between 5pm on Wednesday, 22 October, and 10am on Thursday, 23 October 2025.’
He said ‘extensive inquiries remain ongoing’ and asked for anyone with information to contact the police. ‘It may help us piece together what happened and find the trophy,’ he added.