Ancient Buddha statue worth Rs 12.5 crore stolen from Los Angeles art gallery

The Budhha statue dates back to 1603-1867, and is believed to have been commissioned as the centerpiece of a temple. (Representational image)

A centuries-old Japanese bronze Buddha statue worth $1.5 million (about Rs 12.5 crore) was stolen from an art gallery in Los Angeles, US, last week. The heist was caught on camera.

The 113-kg sculpture was stolen from the Barakat Gallery in Beverly Grove around 3.45 am on September 18, the Los Angeles police department told the media.

CCTV footage shows the thief driving up to the gallery in a moving truck before busting open a driveway gate to enter the gallery. He then used a dolly to load the statue on the truck before driving off, Fayez Barakat, the gallery owner, told KTLA. The entire robbery lasted about 25 minutes, he added.

“I prize it so much,” Barakat told the news channel. “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.”

The Budhha statue dates back to 1603-1867, Barakat said, adding that it is believed to have been commissioned as the centerpiece of a temple. The one-of-a-kind artifact had come to his possession more than 55 years ago.

“I don’t think there’s another like it on the market anywhere," Paul Henderson, the gallery’s director, told the New York Post. "It’s four feet tall, it’s hollow cast bronze and it’s a stunning piece. It’s really aesthetically arresting and it’s shocking to see something like this go missing.”

He added that the sculpture was singled out from among hundreds of valuable pieces and that it would be difficult for the thief to sell it.

“Because it’s an ancient artifact, there’s nowhere where you can sell this piece,” he told the publication. “You can’t go on the market. You can’t take it to a pawn shop and sell it for a few thousand dollars, it’s just not possible. So, it’s very interesting. It’s like a museum heist type thing where what are you going to do with this object right now? We’re all very curious and really puzzled, to be honest.”