Dali’s 150-Kilogram Apocalypse Bronze Artwork Stolen in France
A bronze cover for the book The Apocalypse of St. John by Salvador Dali, has been stolen from a private contemporary art center in France.
The theft took place overnight from Oct. 4 to 5. The Clermont-Ferrand prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation, Le Parisien reports.
The stolen sculpture weighs 150 kilograms. Dali decorated the bronze sculptural composition with gold, precious stones and seashells. The entire book weighs 210 kilograms and was once described as the heaviest and most expensive book in the world.
Only one copy of the book exists. It was created between 1958 and 1961 at the initiative of publisher Joseph Foret. Seven artists and seven writers contributed to the project, including Jean Cocteau, Bernard Buffet, Jean Giono, Leonard Foujita and Ossip Zadkine. The text of the Book of Revelation was accompanied by illustrations and original reflections on large sheets of parchment.
Prosecutors described the stolen object as a unique and highly valuable work of art. The investigation has been assigned to the Clermont-Ferrand gendarmerie. Authorities have not disclosed how such a heavy object was removed.