Durham, 11 April 2012
Two works of art valuing 1.8 million pounds were stolen from the Durham University’s Oriental Museum during a night raid.
The BBC website explains that thieves entered the Malcolm MacDonald Gallery late in the day, Thursday, 5 April to steal a green jade bowl dating from 1769 with a Chinese poem inscribed inside, as well as a 30 cm x 30 cm porcelain sculpture.
According to museum directors, these “highly significant” objects are rare examples from the Qing Dynasty, the last imperial chinese dynasty (1644-1911). The museum will be closed until further notice.
A spokesperson for the police of Durham indicated that a man and a woman were arrested in West Midlands and that it was possible that the theft was organised by a foreign collector. Museum curator, Dr. Craig Barclay, stated, “We very much hope that police will be able to recover them and we urge anybody who may have any information about their whereabouts to contact the police immediately.”
This was not the museum’s first theft as a rare copy of the Shakespeare’s First Folio was taken in 1998.