Smithsonian Magazine · People & society

Stolen 300-Pound Sculpture Returned to France After 30 Years

A 300-pound, 7.8-foot-tall sculpture, "Faune Chasseur" by Alfred Lepère, has been recovered and returned to France's Musée de Picardie after being stolen in 1993.

Commissioned for the Musée de Picardie in 1863, the sculpture depicts a hunter holding a rabbit. It was moved to the Amiens Zoo in the 1950s and disappeared from there in July 1993.

The artwork was identified by a U.S. auction house in July 2025 through the Art Loss Register, a database of missing items. The auction house halted the sale upon discovering the sculpture's stolen status.

The Art Loss Register collaborated with French authorities to facilitate the sculpture's return. The unidentified owner relinquished the piece for free, and it recently arrived back at the museum.

This recovery highlights the importance of due diligence in the art market, as stolen items can remain hidden for decades. The Art Loss Register also assisted in returning a 1747 oil painting to Mexico last year.

The sculpture's return occurs amidst a wave of high-profile art thefts globally, including incidents at the Lalique Museum, museums in Sicily and the French Riviera, a museum in Spain, and the Louvre.

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