PARIS (AP) – In a daring heist, thieves reportedly stole nine unique pieces from the jewelry collection of Napoleon and the Empress inside the Louvre Museum on Sunday morning. Using a basket lift, the perpetrators accessed the museum while tourists were present in the Galerie d’Apollon, where part of the French Crown Jewels is displayed. Following the incident, the Louvre was closed for the day as police sealed gates and evacuated visitors.
The Louvre has an extensive history of thefts and attempted robberies, with one of the most notable incidents occurring in 1911. During this event, the iconic painting the Mona Lisa was stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia, a former worker who concealed himself within the museum before exiting with the masterpiece hidden under his coat. The painting was recovered two years later in Florence, contributing to its fame as the world's most recognized piece of art.
In the United States, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist in Boston remains one of the largest unsolved art thefts in history, which occurred in the early hours of March 18, 1990. Two men impersonating police officers entered the museum under the pretense of responding to a call. Once inside, they overpowered two security guards, bound them with duct tape, and spent 81 minutes stealing 13 significant works of art, including masterpieces from artists like Rembrandt, Vermeer, Degas, and Manet. Authorities estimate the stolen artworks could be worth approximately half a billion dollars, but the museum officials assert that their true value is priceless as they cannot be replaced. The empty frames of some stolen pieces, including Rembrandt's "Storm on the Sea of Galilee," remain on display to this day.
In Europe, Berlin witnessed significant burglaries at its renowned museums. In 2017, thieves at the Bode Museum made off with a massive 100-kilogram (220-pound) Canadian gold coin known as the “Big Maple Leaf.” The culprits reportedly smashed a protective case and extracted the coin through a museum window, evading capture while fleeing with their haul in a wheelbarrow. Later, authorities believed that they had cut the coin into smaller pieces for sale on the black market. Three individuals, including a museum security guard, were eventually convicted in connection with this case.
In another notable incident just two years later, a group of thieves targeted Dresden's Green Vault, one of the oldest museums in the world. They smashed vitrines and absconded with diamond-encrusted royal jewels valued at hundreds of millions of euros. Officials reported that they stole three sets of 18th-century jewelry deemed "priceless," as they could not be easily resold. Some items from this theft were subsequently recovered, and legal action led to the conviction of five men, while one was acquitted.
In a rather bizarre theft, a golden toilet was stolen from Blenheim Palace, an English heritage site linked to wartime leader Winston Churchill. The thief, Michael Jones, was convicted earlier this year for the theft of the fully functioning 18-carat toilet, which was insured for nearly 5 million pounds (over $6 million). Jones had even used the toilet for 'reconnaissance' the day prior to the theft. The actual theft occurred on September 14, 2019, when he returned with accomplices and quickly pried the toilet from its plumbing using sledgehammers, causing significant damage. Titled "America," the artwork by Maurizio Cattelan weighs just over 215 pounds (98 kilograms) and is believed to have been cut up and sold, as it remains missing to this day.
The Louvre's recent theft comes amidst this troubling backdrop of art crime, reminding us of the ongoing vulnerability of cultural treasures globally.
