Priceless Chinese Porcelain Stolen in Adrien Dubouché Museum Heist
Thieves stole three Chinese porcelain artifacts valued at approximately €9.5 million from the Adrien Dubouché National Museum in Limoges, France.
In the early hours of Thursday, thieves broke into the Adrien Dubouché National Museum in Limoges, France, and stole three Chinese porcelain artifacts valued at approximately €9.5 million. The stolen items include two blue-and-white dishes from the 14th and 15th centuries and an 18th-century vase, all designated as national treasures.
The burglary occurred around 3:15 a.m. when the perpetrators smashed a window to gain entry. Despite the alarm being triggered and security guards alerting the police promptly, the suspects had fled before authorities arrived.
Limoges public prosecutor Émilie Abrantes stated that an investigation has been launched into the "aggravated theft of cultural property exhibited in a French museum, committed in a group and with damage to property."
Limoges Mayor Émile Roger Lombertie commented on the incident, noting that while the security system functioned, it might require reassessment. He suggested that collectors might be commissioning such thefts, involving high-level criminals.
The Adrien Dubouché National Museum houses approximately 18,000 works, including the world's largest public collection of Limoges porcelain.
This incident follows a series of museum thefts in France. In November 2024, the Cognacq-Jay Museum in Paris was targeted, with thieves stealing diamond-encrusted snuffboxes valued at around €1 million. The next day, jewelry worth several million euros was taken in an armed robbery at the Hiéron Museum in eastern France.
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