A 24-year-old US man has been charged with theft of a thumb from a terracotta warrior statue that is part of an exhibit on loan from China.
Chinese authorities are demanding severe punishment for an American man who allegedly stole a terracotta warrior’s thumb while it was on show at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.
Michael Rohana, aged 24, from the state of Delaware, was charged with theft and concealment of a major artwork, and later released on bail.
China’s Xinhua news agency said Rohana, whilst attending an ‘ugly Christmas jumper party’ at the institute, “used a cellular telephone as a flashlight, looked at various exhibits displayed in the then-closed showroom, stepped up onto a platform supporting one of the statues, and took a selfie with it”.
When the FBI’s Art Crime Team tracked down Rohana and showed up at his parent’s home, he admitted in front of his father that he had stashed the thumb in his desk drawer.
The 2,000-year-old statues, worth approximately $4.5m each, were built by the Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang, beliveing they would protect him in the afterlife.
China will send two experts to the United States to assess the damage to the ancient terracotta warrior and will demand compensation.
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