The Stolen Guitar That Resurfaced at The Met – And Mick Taylor Never Got It Back
In 1971, amidst the chaos and decadence surrounding the Rolling Stones’ infamous sessions at Villa Nellcôte in France, something mysterious happened. A rare 1959 Gibson Les Paul Sunburst guitar — originally owned by Keith Richards and later sold to guitarist Mick Taylor — was stolen under strange circumstances.
It wasn’t just any theft. According to insiders, corrupt Marseille narcotics officers raided the villa, supposedly to settle Richards’ drug debts. Nine instruments vanished that day, including Taylor’s prized Les Paul. For decades, it was considered lost forever — a relic of rock ‘n’ roll history gone without a trace.
But now, over half a century later, that same guitar has surfaced — not in a private collection, but on display at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
When Mick Taylor was alerted by a fan, he and his manager confirmed the guitar’s authenticity by its unique grain pattern, like a fingerprint. Still, no apology was issued. No compensation. No explanation from the museum. The instrument was simply… there.
The irony? The guitar had once played on Exile on Main St. — one of the Stones’ greatest albums. And now, instead of hanging in Taylor’s home or a Hall of Fame, it rests silently behind glass, uncredited, unreturned.
“I never thought I’d see it again,” Taylor admitted. “And yet here it is — and not a word from anyone.”
Fans are outraged. Some demand legal action. Others call it a cultural theft.
But one question lingers:
How did a stolen guitar, once lost in the haze of 1970s rock excess, end up proudly displayed in one of the world’s most respected art institutions — without anyone asking whose it really was ?