Argentine police hunted for a 17th century painting which was allegedly stolen by the Nazis from a Dutch Jewish art collector and resurfaced this week in a property ad, only to disappear again.

The painting, believed to be "Portrait of a Lady" by Italian baroque portraitist Giuseppe Ghislandi was identified by the Dutch newspaper AD in a picture of a house for sale in the seaside resort of Mar del Plata.

The authenticity of the artwork cannot be proven until it is recovered but it is believed to have been stolen from Amsterdam art dealer Jacques Goudstikker during World War II.

In the for-sale notice of the house in Mar del Plata, published by a realtor company, the painting of a noblewoman in a gilded frame was seen hanging in the living room, above a green sofa.

After reporters spotted it, Argentine prosecutor Carlos Martinez ordered a search of the residence, only for them to find-out that the painting had disappeared.

Meanwhile, the property has also been removed from the website of the realtor, who did not respond to interview request for comment, while reports have it that the international police agency Interpol is assisting in the investigation.

In a similar development, the Mar del Plata house is believed to belong to Patricia Kadgien, daughter of the late Friedrich Kadgien, a senior SS officer who fled to Argentina after the war.

Her lawyer, Carlos Murias, told La Capital, a local newspaper in Mar del Plata, that she and her husband would cooperate with the authorities till the truth of the matter is identified.