An Italian art collector has lost a painting worth €1m after forgetting to take it with him when he left the train.

Francesco Plateroti was on a Paris to Geneva TGV on November 21^st, leaving behind ‘The Banquet of Immortals on the Terrace of Jade’ painting when he disembarked at the last stop before Geneva.

Mr Plateroti says he didn’t notice he had left the painting behind, and by the time he realised he wasn’t carrying it, the high-speed train had already departed the station.

He immediately reported his mistake to staff at the station in Bellegarde, and contacted his colleagues in Switzerland. The train was searched, but the Wang Zhenpeng painting could not be found.

Property that is left behind on the Paris to Geneva line is sent to an office in the Swiss capital Berne, but the million-Euro masterpiece has yet to be handed in.

Mr Plateroti has now reached out to the public in an effort to track down the artwork, offering a reward to anyone who can help him locate it.

Although the calls he has received have so far been attempts to extort the reward money, Mr Plateroti remains hopeful. “You have to be optimistic,” he told local media, “After all, a positive attitude can overcome many obstacles.”

The 13^th century painting can only be sold on the black market, as Mr Plateroti remembered to take the certificate of authenticity with him when leaving the train.