FX.co ★ Thefts of the century: 10 most expensive stolen things

"The Mona Lisa" by L. da Vinci

The most memorable theft in history was the abduction of the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci "Mona Lisa" from the Louvre, which occurred in 1911. The thief was the worker of the museum Vincenzo Perugia. He had been keeping the canvas for 2 years and was caught trying to sell it in Italy.

Empire State Building

The majestic 102-story building in Manhattan, strange as it may sound, was once stolen. The history of this theft is amazing: two journalists of the Daily News forged documents for 1.5 hours for the right to own the Empire State Building. Sharks of the pen were owning it during the day and then confessed to the offense.

"The Concert" by J. Vermeer

The theft of the canvas of the Dutch artist Jan Vermeer's "The Concert" occurred in 1990. The picture was estimated at $250 million. Together with it, another 13 paintings worth at least $500 million were stolen from Isabella Stuart Gardner's museum. Their fate is still unknown.

Works by P. Picasso

Six years ago, five paintings of famous artists were stolen from the Paris Museum of Modern Art. Among them was the canvas of Pablo Picasso "Pigeon with green peas" worth 23 million euros. The work of art has not been found to this day.

Diamonds

Often the subject of the theft were precious stones, in particular diamonds. A large batch of the jewelry was stolen at the Schiphol airport in Amsterdam 11 years ago. The cost of diamonds was 76 million euros. These gems have not been found until now.

The salt cellar by B. Cellini

Saliera is a gold salt cellar made in the form of a table statuette in 1543, belonged to the goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini. He presented it to French King Francis I. Later this work of art became the pearl of Innsbruck Castle Ambras. In 2003, Saliera was stolen from the Museum of Art History. Its cost was about 50 million euros. Ten years ago the salt cellar was found buried near the Austrian city of Tsmyll.

"The Madonna of the Yarnwinder" by L. Da Vinci

Another work by the great Leonardo da Vinci - "The Madonna of the Yarnwinder" (circa 1501) - was considered lost. The painting was stolen 13 years ago, but in 2007 it was found. At the moment the canvas is in the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh.

Van Gogh's canvases

The paintings of the famous Netherlandish post-impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh were also once stolen. The "View of the Sea at Scheveningen" and the "Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen" canvases were abducted from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Their value reaches $30 million. Thieves suffered a well-deserved punishment, but the paintings were never found.

Ingots of gold

In 1986, one of the largest abductions of gold bars occurred in London. Gold has always been attractive for scammers, which was confirmed by this theft. About $3 million, as well as gold bullion worth 26 million pounds (over $ 34 million) were stolen from the Heathrow Airport storage facility. Until now, their whereabouts are unknown.

Violin by A. Stradivarius

The violin, made by the famous Antonio Stradivari, also did not slip out of sight of the scammers. From 1698 to 1725 the master produced the best of his instruments. In 1727, a violin was created, on which the famous Erika Morini played, it was this instrument by Stradivari that was stolen and still not found. The price of the art object is about $3 - 3.5 million.