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A stolen calligraphy scroll believed to be worth millions after being cut in half was found in Hong Kong.
Thieves stole the scroll of Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong from an art collector’s home last month during a break-in.
They then sold it for a fraction of its value. It was apparently cut up because the 2.8 meter scroll was deemed too long to display, Hong Kong police said.
The original owner says the value of the work of art has been “definitely diminished”.
The scroll contains stanzas of poems handwritten by the founder of the People’s Republic of China. The owner has claimed it is valued at $ 300 million (£ 230 million) although it is not known how the valuation was obtained.
Massive raid
The scroll was stolen in a massive robbery on September 10th when three men broke into the home of Fu Chunxiao, a noted collector of postage stamps and revolutionary art.
They also made with antique postage stamps, copper coins, and other calligraphy pieces from Mao. According to Mr Fu, who was reportedly in mainland China at the time of the break-in, the total transportation was HKD 5 billion (US $ 645 million; £ 500 million).
The thieves sold one of the pieces to another art collector for just HK $ 500 ($ 64; £ 50) to a buyer who, according to The South China Morning Post, believed the artwork was a fake.
The buyer then saw a public appeal by the police and surrendered with both scrolls on September 22nd.
It is unclear who exactly cut the artwork. Hong Kong Police Department Chief Superintendent Tony Ho said, “Someone found the calligraphy too long … and difficult to show and display. So it was cut in half.”
“It was heartbreaking to see it being torn in two,” Mr. Fu told the Post. “It will definitely affect its value, but the effects remain to be seen.”
In 2019, a calligraphic autograph letter from Mao Zedong was auctioned off by Sotheby’s for £ 519,000.
Police later arrested the 49-year-old buyer on suspicion of handling stolen property, although he has now been released on bail.
A suspected burglar was also arrested, but the other two intruders who broke into Mr. Fu’s home are still at large.
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