A Buddha statue worth $1.5 million was stolen in Los Angeles (7 photos + 1 video)

On September 18, a bronze statue was stolen from the American Barakat gallery. Buddha statue. The thief managed it alone in 25 minutes. Artifact weighing 113 kg dates back to Japan's Edo period, which lasted from 1603 to 1867.





The daring theft was recorded on CCTV cameras.



In the footage, a truck drove up to the gate. The driver passed past the cameras and headed into the gallery. Using a cart, he moved the statue to truck. According to gallery owner Faez Barakat, the entire process took about 25 minutes.





“I treasure it very much,” Faez said of the statue. “It stood on backyard of my house, and when I moved to this gallery, I put it in the garden for everyone to admire and enjoy."

The Barakat gallery offers for sale the largest world collection of ancient art, and its branches are located in London, Seoul, Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong.



The sculpture was very valuable because Barakat acquired it more than 55 years ago, and there are no other similar works in the world.

The height of the bronze exhibit is 1.2 m.

The Edo period is one of the richest in terms of Japanese art. The most recognizable work of this era is the engraving "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" by famous artist Katsushika Hokusai. Last year, one of the early versions of this masterpiece went out of print. hammer for 3 million dollars.



Gallery owner Faez Barakat

Faez Barakat is a fifth generation art dealer. Barakat family was engaged in the sale of artifacts in the Middle East. In the 1950s she opened her first gallery in Jerusalem and has been running a business ever since to the whole world.



Two-story exhibition hall with an area of 650 sq. m was opened in West Hollywood in January 2017. There are many for sale here artifacts - from sculptures to jewelry, as well as ancient texts in history, art and anthropology.



This is the first theft that Paul Henderson encountered, worked as gallery director for more than ten years. He suspects that An ancient artifact is almost impossible to secretly sell.

"You can't go to the market. You can't take the statue to pawn shop and sell it for a few thousand dollars, it’s simply impossible. It's like a museum robbery. To be honest, we are puzzled." Henderson said.

Considering all possible scenarios, Barakat fears that the thief will melt down the centuries-old statue. "I have “My heart is breaking,” admitted the gallery owner.