In a bizarre robbery on Saturday in Paris, an unknown thief made off with a statuette signed by the famous Catalan artist Salvador Dalí
At about 17:30 on Saturday 31st of May in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, two men broke into two separate art exhibition spaces in Montmartre.
The first thief tried to steal a statuette named “Danse du Temps I” which was on exhibition at the Espace Dalí on Rue Poulbot, before being chased away by a tourist without having stolen anything.
At the very same time over at the Montmartre Gallery less than 100m away on Place du Tertre, a second thief managed to steal a statuette representing the famous “Melted Clocks”.
Sculpted by Salvador Dalí, the two bronze statuettes were put on display on plinths, without any alarm system attached. The value of the stolen item is estimated at €22,000. Both thieves managed to escape. The curator of the two museums filed a report to the police and investigators from the BRB (Brigade de Répression du Banditisme) were put on the case to catch the culprits and return the artwork. The Banditry Repression Brigade is an elite unit of police under the auspices of the Interior Ministry. They’re charged with armed robberies, stolen cars, serious burglaries, scams and art thefts.