Art theft, dubbed artnapping, is the unlawful taking of creative masterpieces be they paintings, sculpture, other artistic treasures from museums, exhibitions, or even private collections, according to Wikipedia. Which have been the most audacious thefts in the last few years?
The robbers, in 8 minutes flat, made off with eight of the French crown jewels and attempted to swipe Empress Eugénie’s crown but damaged it and dropped it during their escape.
Thieves targeted the Drents Museum in Assen, making off with several Dacian relics, among them the famed Helmet of Coțofenești, which had been temporarily loaned from Romania’s National History Museum.
A bold robbery was carried out during which more than a hundred priceless royal jewels vanished -- among them the illustrious 62-carat Dresden White Diamond.
Following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, continuing till now, Russia has reportedly seized tens of thousands of artworks. Ukrainian officials say close to 1.7 million pieces. Experts describe it as the most extensive act of art plunder.
Five artworks by renowned Irish artist Francis Bacon -- all modest in scale yet valued together at around €30 million -- vanished after a sophisticated burglary at a Madrid home of Bacon's friend.
A swift, calculated theft occurred at a Rotterdam gallery and seven significant artworks disappeared.
A major temple heist occurred at this Thanjavur shrine. Eight ancient Chola-era murtis, that included sacred figures of Nataraja, Uma Maheshwari, Vinayagar, Devi, Deepalakshmi, Chandrasekarar, Sampanthar, and Krishna, were taken and landed up with notorious New York art dealer Subhash Kapoor.