#museum-theft

#museum-theft

The Helmet of Cotofenesti, a priceless gold artefact from Romania, was stolen in January 2025 during a robbery at the Drents Museum in the Netherlands.

"Be mindful that when you bring out your phone, you're waving dollar signs around. Somebody can snatch your phone and use the credit card on it."

The swift intervention by police had thwarted a violent terrorist attack in the French capital the previous night, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nunez.

The exquisite, jewel-encrusted boxes were badly damaged in 2024, after they were among seven treasures stolen from Paris's Musée Cognacq-Jay by a gang of axe-wielding thieves. The perpetrators broke into the temporary exhibition, titled "Luxe de Poche," or "Pocket Luxury," on November 20, making off with goods that were, at the time, reported to be worth more than €1 million.

"The silver price is high... but for us it is of course far more than the silver price," the museum's chairman Ernst Boesveld told The Art Newspaper. "It is about the stories behind every mustard pot, it is history and it is cultural heritage. We are enormously disappointed and angry."