A priceless necklace once worn by Egyptian royalty has been stolen in a brazen smash-and-grab raid at a museum in Vienna, Austria.
The 200-carat platinum necklace, decorated with 673 diamonds, was taken from the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) during opening hours on Thursday afternoon. Austrian police are now searching for two men believed to be behind the theft.
According to authorities, the suspects entered the museum after purchasing tickets to the exhibition before smashing a glass display case with a hammer. They then grabbed the historic jewellery and fled the building.
Police have released images of the two suspects captured by security cameras and appealed to the public for information. Officers also searched parts of central Vienna with the help of a police tracking dog, while investigators reportedly suspect the necklace may have been stolen as part of a criminal gang’s commissioned operation.
The stolen piece was part of a jewellery exhibition featuring more than 300 works by French luxury jewellery house Van Cleef & Arpels. Despite several people being present when the incident occurred, no injuries were reported.
The necklace dates back to 1939 and was previously owned by Queen Nazli of Egypt. Historical records show she wore the piece during the wedding of her daughter, Princess Fawzia, to Iran’s then Crown Prince Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in Cairo. He later became the Shah of Iran.
The spectacular necklace was eventually sold at Sotheby’s in New York in 2015 for US$4.3 million, highlighting the immense value and historical significance of the jewellery.
The MAK exhibition featured around 200 rare and unique objects, combining pieces from the museum’s collection with items representing the 120-year history of Van Cleef & Arpels. Following the theft, the exhibition was temporarily closed and a scheduled guided tour was cancelled.
The Vienna robbery comes amid a growing wave of high-profile thefts targeting European museums and cultural institutions. In Spain, thieves recently stole the Treasure of Villena, a collection of Bronze Age gold artefacts regarded as one of Europe’s most significant prehistoric treasures.
Earlier this month, four important paintings by Renaissance artist Antonello da Messina were also stolen from a museum in Sicily during a national holiday. Italian authorities separately recovered works by Paul Cézanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Henri Matisse that had been stolen from a private museum near Parma.
A recent Europol report warned that museum robberies across Europe are becoming increasingly violent, with criminals using weapons and heavy tools such as sledgehammers, axes and even explosives to break into institutions and seize valuable cultural treasures.
