Heist Aftershock: Securing the Louvre’s Priceless Greek Masterpieces

A information breach astatine the Louvre could endanger ancient Greek masterpieces, specified arsenic Nike. Credit: Greek Reporter

The heist astatine the Louvre, adjacent if it targeted smaller, high-value objects similar jewels, invariably escalates the absorption connected the information of the museum’s full collection, peculiarly its Ancient Greek masterpieces.

These world-renowned works, which correspond irreplaceable taste heritage, are often large, fixed sculptures, making them little prone to a speedy “smash-and-grab” theft but susceptible to vandalism oregon harm during a information breach. Experts accidental that the incidental demands an contiguous and broad information audit to support these treasures.

Security concerns for past Greek masterpieces astatine the Louvre

The superior information interest is the sheer standard and high-profile quality of the Greek Antiquities department, which is dispersed crossed the Sully and Denon wings.

The grand, often historical architectural mounting of the galleries, similar the Daru Staircase, portion beauteous for display, tin complicate information patrols and accelerated response. A disruption successful 1 portion of the depository suggests that other, less-crowded areas—such arsenic the antiquity galleries—could beryllium seen arsenic targets for an opportunistic secondary attack, oregon simply for vandalism.

While the colossal sculptures are harmless from casual theft, the extended postulation of Greek vases and bronze figurines successful the Galerie Campana and different rooms represents a greater risk. These items are small, portable, and highly high-value connected the achromatic marketplace owed to their rarity and cleanable provenance, making them perfect targets for organized transgression rings.

Famous Greek works astatine the Louvre

Ancient Greek Statue of Venus de Milo oregon Aphrodite of Milos, Louvre, Paris. Credit: Bradley N Weber/Wikimedia Commons/ CC BY 2.0

The Louvre’s 2 astir celebrated Greek works service arsenic almighty symbols of the art:

The Winged Victory of Samothrace (Nike): Displayed prominently astatine the apical of the Daru Staircase (Denon Wing), its spectacular but unfastened placement makes it a awesome of the Louvre’s magnificence, but besides a imaginable people for onslaught during a information failure.

The Venus de Milo: Housed successful its ain dedicated country (Sully Wing), this iconic marble statue of Aphrodite is the precise embodiment of the museum’s Greek postulation and would beryllium catastrophic to suffer oregon damage.

Other indispensable works see the ample marble statues successful the Salle des Cariatides, specified arsenic the Roman transcript of Praxiteles’ Apollo Sauroktonos, and the immense and invaluable postulation of red-figure and black-figure Attic vases that archer the ocular stories of Greek mythology and regular life.

France has promised that it volition reappraisal information protocols astatine the Louvre.