Stolen piece from valuable CSIRO sculpture recovered in Fyshwick

A piece of a valuable sculpture that was stolen from outside the CSIRO building at Campbell in Canberra has been recovered by police.

One of two discs from the bronze artwork, called Il grande ascolto (the great listening), was broken off and taken earlier this month.

The sculpture was created by well-known Italian artist Arnaldo Pomodoro and had been in the science organisation's forecourt since 1970.

The two large bronze discs, approximately 80cm in diameter each, were mounted beside each other on a bronze base, facing opposite directions.

Police recovered the missing piece from outside a business at Fyshwick after a call from the owner.

The sculpture is estimated to be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.