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Iraqi authorities investigate alleged stolen Picasso

BAGHDAD (AP) – An Iraqi judge says authorities are investigating a man accused of trying to sell an allegedly stolen painting by Picasso.

The Naked Woman was seized near the southern city of Hillah Tuesday after the man tried to sell it for $450,000. It’s unclear if the painting is a genuine Picasso, although Iraqi police say it is.

Judge Aqeel al-Janabi said Thursday the painting will go to Baghdad after the investigation.

Authorities said it was looted from Kuwait during Saddam Hussein’s 1990 invasion. It allegedly bears both Picasso’s signature and the words “The Museum of Kuwait.”

The London-based Art Loss Registry says it has no record of any paintings missing from the Kuwait National Museum, and no record of this particular painting as missing.

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