A rare 1959 Gibson Les Paul guitar played by Jimmy Page that was recently donated to New York’s Metropolitation Museum of Art is allegedly the same guitar stolen from Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor in 1971 while he was recording Exile On Main Street.
The museum is now facing questions over its decision to accept the guitar in its collection and whether Taylor should be compensated for the theft, or even reunited with his lost instrument.
The museum announced on May 19 that it had received a donation of more than 500 guitars from Dirk Ziff. A full inventory of the donation has not yet been published, but the announcement mentioned that the donation included “the 1959 sunburst Les Paul guitar used by Keith Richards during The Rolling Stones’ first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, which ignited interest in this legendary model”.
Page praised the donation and planned exhibition of the guitars, writing in the announcement that “I would like to take my hat off to the people who have been behind this—and to The Met for its dedication to construct something that is going to be of such great importance for generations to come.”
The 1959 Gibson Les Paul guitar referred to in the announcement was previously exhibited in the museum in 2019 as part of its “Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock & Roll” exhibition. The museum’s website continues to list the instrument online from the time when it was loaned for the exhibition, before it was donated this year.
At the time of the exhibition featuring the guitar in 2019, the museum stated that the instrument was on loan from Perry Margouleff, a guitar collector and musician who helped reunite Page with his stolen “Black Beauty” 1960 Gibson Les Paul Custom. Margouleff worked closely with Ziff to form his collection of rare guitars, as reported by The New Yorker.
As Guitar Player reports, Page was photographed playing the guitar in the 1960s during a recording session for Andrew Loog Oldham. Eric Clapton also played it during a July 31, 1966 show with Cream.
Richards sold the guitar to Taylor in 1967. By 1971, Taylor had joined The Rolling Stones and brought the instrument to Villa Nellcôte in France, where the band was recording Exile On Main Street. The guitar was then stolen along with other instruments and Taylor has never been reunited with it.
Now, Page Six reports that Taylor’s business partner and manager Marlies Damming has identified the guitar donated to the museum as the same instrument that was stolen from Taylor in 1971.
“There are numerous photos of Mick Taylor playing this Les Paul, as it was his main guitar until it disappeared,” Damming said. “The interesting thing about these vintage Les Pauls (from the late 1950s), is that they are renowned for their flaming . . . which is unique, like a fingerprint.”
An unnamed source reportedly told the newspaper: “Taylor says he never received compensation for the theft and is mystified as to how his property found its way into the Met’s collection.”
Rumours of stolen guitars could prove to be a headache for the museum, which previously had items in its collections seized by prosecutors in 2023 over allegations that they had been stolen.
The Metropolitation Museum of Art and Marlies Damming were contacted for comment. Dirk Ziff was contacted for comment through Vere Initiatives, a philanthropic organisation he established in 2022.
“Musicians pour their hearts and souls into their instruments, turning them into extensions of their very being. When those instruments are stolen, it’s not just a loss of a valuable item, it’s a loss of a part of their spirit and creative voice. Reuniting musicians with their stolen instruments isn’t just about recovery; it’s about restoring their passion, their artistry, and their connection to music. Every note they create with that instrument carries a piece of their soul, and I hope these instruments find their way back home, so the music can continue to inspire and heal us all.”