Rolling Stones legend in battle with museum over iconic guitar

When The Rolling Stones were ­working on their album Exile on Main St in 1971 near Nice, burglars stole eight guitars from the Villa Nellcôte, in Villefranche-sur-Mer, where the band was staying.

Among them was a distinctive 1959 ­Gibson Les Paul, as suggested by some accounts.

At the time it was used by Stones' guitarist Mick Taylor, who is now 76.

It had seemingly disappeared until the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York announced in May it had been given a collection of 500 guitars — ­including a 1959 sunburst Les Paul.

Shortly after the Met’s ­announcement, representatives for Taylor said he was surprised the guitar found its way into the collection after its disappearance.

Read more: Who will present this series of MasterChef?

Read more: Calvin Harris shares photos of ‘superhero’ wife’s placenta after birth of son

The guitar is also ­referred to as the "Keithburst" because it had initially belonged to musician Keith Richards, now 81.

Marlies Damming, Taylor’s manager, told Page Six: "There are numerous photos of Mick Taylor playing this Les Paul, as it was his main guitar until it disappeared. 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."

However, the Met has since claimed that according to its own research Taylor never owned the guitar and that it has had a public record for decades.

The instrument went up for auction at Christie’s in 2004 and was featured in a Met ­exhibition in 2019, the museum added.

A Met spokesman said: "This guitar has a long and well-documented history of ownership."

There is uncertainty surrounding the guitar's place of origin, with a lack of knowledge about who owned it before Richards bought it at Selmer’s music store in London.

By 1964, it Richards had it and he played it during the Rolling Stones’ first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show that same year.

Four years later, Taylor bought it from Ian Stewart, the Stones’ road manager.

A year later, Taylor joined the Rolling Stones and frequently used the Les Paul on stage, including during his 1969 Hyde Park debut with the band, with further details on what happened with the instrument next up until it was discovered at the Met remaining murky.

Andy Babiuk, the author of Rolling Stones Gear, claims Taylor’s 1959 Gibson Les Paul was among the eight guitars stolen in 1971.

However, the Met argues that ­according to its research the guitar was not taken in that theft and was still owned by Richards at the time. Its provenance lists Adrian Miller as the owner in 1971, although it does not say how he ­acquired it.

The Met said it had not heard from Taylor nor his representatives about the issue.

However, Damming told The Times in a statement: "It would appear that the Metropolitan Museum has not acknowledged receipt of messages from Taylor’s legal counsel, and they have not responded to his request for inspection of the guitar."