{"id":236761,"date":"2023-09-25T00:11:28","date_gmt":"2023-09-25T00:11:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lovemainstream.com\/?p=236761"},"modified":"2023-09-25T00:11:28","modified_gmt":"2023-09-25T00:11:28","slug":"thief-broke-into-la-gallery-to-steal-ancient-art-worth-1-5million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lovemainstream.com\/world-news\/thief-broke-into-la-gallery-to-steal-ancient-art-worth-1-5million\/","title":{"rendered":"Thief broke into LA gallery to steal ancient art worth $1.5MILLION"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Moment thief busted into LA art gallery to steal 250-pound ancient Japanese Buddha sculpture worth $1.5MILLION<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span>A thief was caught on security camera hauling the heavy statue into the back of a moving truck<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Gallery owner Fayez Barakat says there is no other piece quite like it<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>He is worried the bandit may melt the artifact down for bronze despite its historical significance<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A thief slipped into a ritzy Los Angeles art gallery to steal an ancient statue worth $1.5million &#8211; with the daring heist caught on security camera.<\/p>\n<p>The bronze sculpture depicting a cross-legged Buddha was swiped from the Barakat Gallery in Beverly Grove around 3.45 am on September 18.<\/p>\n<p>The 250-pound artifact dates back to Japan\u2019s Edo Period, spanning 1603 to 1867, and was believed to have been commissioned for the centerpiece of a temple.<\/p>\n<p>Footage captured the moment a Budget moving truck pulled up to the driveway gate. The hoodie-wearing driver stepped out, busted open the gate and scurried past the cameras on his way into the gallery. Using a dolly, he moved the statue into truck.<\/p>\n<p>The entire process took around 25 minutes, according to gallery owner Fayez Barakat.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I prize it so much,&#8217; he said of the statue. &#8216;I had it in the backyard of my home and when I moved into this gallery, I put it in the backyard of the gallery for everybody to admire and enjoy.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/24\/23\/75790895-12555863-image-m-7_1695595580354.jpg\" height=\"564\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>West Hollywood&#8217;s Barakat Gallery is down one ancient artifact, as a bronze Buddha statue was stolen on September 18<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/24\/23\/75790891-12555863-image-a-12_1695595660726.jpg\" height=\"356\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Security footage captured the moment a thief broke open the driveway gate and headed into the gallery, only to return in under 30 minutes towing the sculpture on a dolly<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/24\/23\/75790501-12555863-image-a-9_1695595626306.jpg\" height=\"451\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The gallery is located in Beverly Grove, a busy shopping and dining destination in Los Angeles<\/p>\n<p>Barakat Gallery features the largest ancient art collection in the world for sale, with\u00a0other locations in London, Seoul, Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong.<\/p>\n<p>The West Hollywood site opened in January 2017 and features a 7,000-square-foot showroom spread across two stories. The gallery sells a\u00a0myriad of artifacts ranging from sculptures to jewelry plus a library with a selection of texts related to history, art and anthropology.<\/p>\n<p>But the stolen sculpture was precious, as Barakat said he acquired it over 55 years ago and there is no other artifact like it in the world.<\/p>\n<p>Gallery director Paul Henderson described it as the &#8216;prize piece&#8217; out of nearly 200 pieces in the collection.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;It\u2019s four feet tall, it\u2019s hollow cast bronze and it\u2019s a stunning piece,&#8217; he told KTLA 5. &#8216;It\u2019s really aesthetically arresting and it\u2019s shocking to see something like this go missing.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>The theft is the first Henderson has experienced after working at the gallery for over a decade.<\/p>\n<p>He suspected the ancient artifact would be virtually impossible to sell without getting caught.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;You can\u2019t go on the market. You can\u2019t take it to a pawn shop and sell it for a few thousand dollars, it\u2019s just not possible,&#8217; he said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;It\u2019s like a museum heist type thing where, what are you going to do with this object right now? We\u2019re all very curious and really puzzled, to be honest.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/24\/23\/75790467-12555863-image-a-11_1695595644512.jpg\" height=\"422\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Gallery owner Fayez Barakat says he is &#8216;heartbroken,&#8217; as the piece is one of a kind<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/24\/23\/75790885-12555863-image-a-10_1695595640249.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The gallery specializes in ancient artifacts and has around 200 items in its collection<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/24\/23\/75790469-12555863-image-a-13_1695595678393.jpg\" height=\"357\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The statue is valued at $1.5million and was acquired 55 years ago. Gallery director Paul Henderson describes it as the &#8216;prize piece&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/24\/23\/75790883-12555863-image-a-8_1695595595931.jpg\" height=\"356\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Barakat Gallery is a family tradition that started over a century ago. The Barakats were artifact dealers in the Middle East who expanded their business worldwide<\/p>\n<p>Considering all possible outcomes, Barakat expressed fear that the thief might melt the centuries-old statue down for bronze.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I&#8217;m heartbroken,&#8217; the gallery owner said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Whoever stole it, maybe that person understood the value. Probably they commissioned somebody, a thief of some kind, to just go ahead and steal it.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p> Barakat is a fifth-generation art dealer with a family legacy stretching back 125 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Barakat family historically sold artifacts in the Middle East. To account for a growing collection, they opened their first gallery in Jerusalem in the 1950s and have since expanded to other cities across the globe.<\/p>\n<p>Every item at Barakat is legally excavated and recorded, and advertised as &#8216;museum-quality.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>The owner hopes the thief will be found soon and is offering a reward to anyone who returns the sculpture. No arrests have been made.<\/p>\n<p>The Edo period one of richest in terms of Japanese art. One of the most recognizable pieces from this era is\u00a0The Great Wave off Kanagawa, a woodblock print by famed artist\u00a0Katsushika Hokusai.<\/p>\n<p>It depicts a cresting wave with three boats navigating the rough waters. A print of the work, originally titled\u00a0Under the Wave off Kanagawa,\u00a0sold at auction for nearly $3million last year.<\/p>\n<p>Christie&#8217;s, the auction house that sold the piece, is putting a complete set of another 46 prints by the same artist up for sale next March.<\/p>\n<p>The auction house said it expects the prints, which date back to the 19th century, to bring in an amount &#8216;in the millions.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-12555863\/Moment-thief-busted-LA-art-gallery-steal-250-pound-ancient-Japanese-Buddha-sculpture-worth-1-5MILLION.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Moment thief busted into LA art gallery to steal 250-pound ancient Japanese Buddha sculpture worth $1.5MILLION A thief was caught on security camera hauling the heavy statue into the back&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":236760,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - 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