The Adrien Dubouche National Museum was burgled overnight on Wednesday, September 3, with losses estimated at €9.5 million, local authorities said.
The Adrien Dubouché National Museum, located in the central French city of Limoges, holds around 18,000 works, including the largest public collection of Limoges porcelain.
The robbers triggered the alarm around 3.15am at the museum where they smashed a window to gain entry, a source close to the case. Security guards sounded the alarm with police quickly arriving on scene but the suspects had already fled, said Limoges public prosecutor Emilie Abrantes.
The suspects entered the historical gallery where they made off with “two particularly important dishes of Chinese porcelain... dating from the 14th and 15th centuries” and an 18th-century Chinese vase, all designated as “national treasures”, the museum said.
The stolen pieces were on loan from a private collection for a temporary exhibition, French magazine Paris Match reported.
Prosecutors have opened an investigation.