International

_{Posted on Thursday 21-06-2007}

African art stolen in Swiss heist

_{Thieves take Beuys painting, African art in $1.9 million Swiss heist GENEVA: A painting of Joseph Beuys and a collection of African art worth around 2.4 million Swiss francs (US$1.9 million, €1.42 million) were stolen from a house near Geneva, police said Wednesday.}

_{The thieves broke into the house and carried away the art on April 12, said Patrick Pulh of the police for the canton of Geneva.}

_{They stole 140 objects from the private collection, including masks and statues from West Africa, he said. No arrests have been made, Pulh said.}

_{The artworks, which came from countries like Mali, Cameroon, Ghana and Ivory Coast, included several tall masques, including a wooden mask with a crest measuring 1.89 meters (6.2 feet), according to the insurance company which registered the collection.}

_{"Some of the objects have a value of over 100,000 francs, but most of them are worth around 10,000 francs," said Barbara Koenig, spokeswoman for Allianz insurance.}

_{The haul also includes an untitled 1977 painting made of natural rubber by German avant-garde artist Beuys. The painting has an estimated value of 198,000 francs (US$159,500; €119,000), Koenig said.Police said they assume that the thieves were art experts.}

 _{Courtesy of Associated Press:}

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