It was stolen from the Church of Panaya Kanakaria in Northern Cyprus, in 1974 following the Turkish invasion. It’s one of the many things that were stolen from the church, and its the last to be recovered. According to CNN, Brand told the Agence France-Presse that the piece is  “… A very special piece that’s more than 1,600 years old. It’s one of the last and most beautiful examples of art from the early Byzantine era.” The search for the piece of art was long and timely. Brand reportedly went across Europe when he was looking for the mosaic. He had managed to trace the piece back to the apartment of a British family in Monaco. The family was reportedly “horrified” to find out that the art was stolen treasure.

The owners agreed to return the treasure to Cyprus, and they were given a symbolic compensation for keeping the mosaic under good care over the past few years.

Brand is known for his art crime recoveries. He has recovered over 200 missing works of arts, going as back as artifacts from the Aztecs, antique porcelain plates, and many paintings that were stolen by the Nazis. One of his most famous finding was the recovery of bronze horse sculptures. He helped the German police in finding the sculptures that were made by Josef Thorak, and believed to belong to Adolf Hitler. Later in 2016, Brand helped find five artworks that were stolen from a Ukrainian Militia Force in the Dutch Golden Age.

Believed to be made around 550 AD, the Mosaic of Saint Mark now hangs in the walls of the Panaya Kanakaria. The mosaics are considered the most important surviving pieces of Christian artwork; they are thought to be “part of the Cypriote soul.”