9 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Ancient Chinese porcelain worth 1 million euros was stolen from the German museum, sparking anger

Nine pieces of historic Chinese porcelain worth around €1 million were stolen from the Museum for East Asian Art (Cologne) overnight, authorities in the German city said Wednesday.

“Unknown persons” managed to break into the Museum of East Asian Art through a window and steal the pieces from display cases, according to police. Nine items taken date from the 16th to the 19th century, city authorities said in a statement.

Nine pieces of ancient Chinese porcelain, estimated to be worth more than 1 million euros ($1,073 million), artifacts were mostly Chinese porcelain vases, plates, and bowls made during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) ­dynasties. Some of them were part of the museum’s founding collection.

According to a photograph purporting to show the museum’s “stolen relics list,” at least three Qianlong-period porcelain vases were stolen. They were created in Jingdezhen, China’s 1,000-year-old porcelain capital in East China’s Jiangxi Province, which was responsible for the country’s finest porcelain craftsmanship during the Qing Dynasty.

The museum, which opened in 1913, claims to be the first specialized museum of its kind in Europe. Accordingly, it houses – alongside the Museum of Asian Art in Berlin – the most important collection of art from China, Korea, and Japan in the Federal Republic.

Since the stolen items are well documented and easily identifiable, museum director Shao-Lan Hertel said she was hopeful they would eventually find their way back.

The Museum for East Asian Art (Cologne) Photo: Xinhua

Yao Yu, a Chinese cultural expert, told the Global Times that he was “more stunned than angry and disappointed” by the “sluggish loose security management” of the museum, especially when the cultural institution is the “most prestigious of its kind in Europe.”

“It triggers a trust issue in Western museums for us,” Yao noted, adding that such a “brazen mistake” is the solidest evidence against such museums’ “false claim they are the best home for foreign relics.”

“Whenever the relic’s repatriation topic is proposed, Western museums often question the relic’s original country whether or not they can better care for them. This incident that happened is like a joke, or a slap in the face,” Yao noted.

“The current incident in Germany will likely trigger a new round of criticism targeting Western museums. And, this time, I think international anger will likely grow bigger,” Yao said.

Not even a month ago, the British Museum in London was embroiled in a massive scandal in which over 2,000 artifacts were stolen from the site.

The theft comes after five gang members were jailed in May for snatching priceless 18th-century jewels from a museum in Dresden. In what German media dubbed the biggest art heist in modern history, the thieves made off with a haul worth more than €113 million from the Green Vault museum in 2019.

The loot included a sword with a diamond-encrusted hilt and a shoulder piece which contained a 49-carat Dresden white diamond. Some, but not all, of those items were recovered.

In another heist, burglars made away with a stash of Celtic coins worth several million euros from a museum in southern Germany’s Manching city last November.

Stefan Charles, the city councillor for arts and culture, announced a review of the museum’s security.

Related Articles

The mystery of the silver bracelets of Queen Hetepheres in her celebrated tomb at Giza solved

2 June 2023

2 June 2023

The discovery of silver bracelets in the tomb of Queen Hetepheres I, wife of Pharaoh Snofru and mother of Pharaoh...

Particle physics and archeology collaboration uncovers secret Hellenistic underground chamber in Naples

13 May 2023

13 May 2023

The ruins of the ancient necropolis of Neapolis, built by the Greeks between the end of the fourth and the...

Medieval Hub of Arts & Crafts Center discovered in Nola: The discovery could rewrite the history of early medieval Nola

23 August 2023

23 August 2023

On the outskirts of Nola, a district from the early Middle Ages has been discovered. According to the Soprintendenza Archeologia,...

Folded Gold Diadem discovered in Ancient Burial Urn in Southern India

12 August 2022

12 August 2022

A gold diadem, bronze, iron objects, and pottery were reportedly found in a burial urn at the archaeological site of...

An intact Punic Tomb was Discovered in Malta

29 May 2021

29 May 2021

İntact a tomb dating to the Punic period was found in Tarxien. The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage has announced the...

The Entire Genome Of 35,000-Year-Old Skull From Romania Sequenced “Peştera Muierii 1”

24 May 2021

24 May 2021

Researchers have successfully sequenced the whole genome from the skull of Peştera Muierii 1, women who lived in today’s Romania...

Turkish researchers use Artificial Intelligence to read cuneatic Hittite tablets

9 January 2023

9 January 2023

Thanks to a project implemented in Türkiye, 1,954 ancient Hittite tablets are being read for the first time using artificial...

Votive Altar Dedicated to Basque Deity Larrahe Found in Medieval Well

23 June 2024

23 June 2024

Archaeologists have unearthed a Roman-era votive altar dedicated to the ancient Basque deity Larrahe at the medieval monastery of Doneztebe...

Hoysala temples inch closer towards UNESCO recognition

7 February 2022

7 February 2022

The Indian Union government recently proposed the Somanathapura temple in Mysuru district and Chennakeshava and Hoysaleshwara temples in Belur and...

The Old Fisherman Founded the Turkish Sea Creatures Museum

26 March 2021

26 March 2021

The sea gives another life to man, sometimes love, sometimes a disappointment, often a longing. The sea is reminiscent of...

1,500-year-old Byzantine artifacts found under a peach orchard in Turkey’s Iznik

27 January 2023

27 January 2023

In the world-famous historical city of Iznik, which was the capital of four civilizations, a farmer found coins and historical...

A burial complex and an Ancient Dog Statue have been unearthed during excavations in Appio Latino quarter the Rome

8 January 2022

8 January 2022

Workers laying pipes for utility company Acea at Via Luigi Tosti in Rome’s Appio Latino quarter have unearthed an ancient...

DNA Elucidates Mysteries of the Iron Age Log Coffin Culture in Thailand

9 February 2024

9 February 2024

The Northwestern Thailand highlands region of Pang Mapha is dotted with dozens of caves that contain some incredibly odd prehistoric...

Spanish Water Worker discovered 2,500-Year-Old two Gold Necklaces

14 September 2023

14 September 2023

A worker at a local water company in Spain discovered two gold necklaces thought to date back 2,500 years. Sergio...