Helmet of Cotofenesti – credit Radu Oltean, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia
A golden helmet belonging to an ancient Romanian culture holding “inestimable value” was recovered after it was stolen in January from a Museum where it was on loan.
A museum director sought to demonstrate the value of Romanian history by loaning the national treasure to a Dutch museum as part of a 6-month-long exhibition, but disaster struck when thieves broke into the museum, stole the helmet, and a trio of golden bracelets.
The theft shocked the European art world and caused a diplomatic incident, with incensed Romanian officials breathing down the neck of Dutch police, urging them to stop at nothing to recover it.
Called the Helmet of Coțofenești, it was manufactured out of gold during the Dacia civilization in the decade around 450 BCE. Dacia left no written history, so only finds like the Coțofenești Helmet bear witness to their capabilities and identity. Embossed with mythical scenes and studs atop the cranium, a panel covered the eyes meant to shield the wearer, it’s believed, from bad luck.
On April 3rd in the city of Assen, police and officials at the Drents Museum unveiled the helmet, alongside 2 of the bracelets, which they said they recovered through a plea deal reached with 3 suspects arrested shorty after the January break-in.
“We are incredibly pleased,” Corien Fahner of the prosecution service told reporters. “It has been a roller-coaster. Especially for Romania, but also for employees of the Drents Museum.”
It was originally feared that if the thieves’ aim was for money, the helmet would be melted down, since its iconic design would have rendered it unsalable. Fortunately, it seems that either wasn’t the aim of the perpetrators, or their quick arrest interrupted the plan.
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The Guardian, one of many outlets reporting on the theft and recovery, reported that Dutch authorities made several attempts to convince the suspects to reveal the location of the treasures under enormous pressure from the Romanian government.
It’s unclear which terms were agreed to in the plea deal, but one offer may have included a halving of their eventual prison sentence, while an undercover officer may have tried to buy the items outright for €400,000.
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The National History Museum of Romania received €5.7 million as part of an insurance claim on the loss, some if not all of it, the museum may have to pay back now that the objects have been recovered.
One of the 3 stolen bracelets is still missing, while the helmet suffered a dent during the theft. Romanian authorities are confidant the third can be located, and said they will stop at nothing to bring the final treasure back to Bucharest.
CELEBRATE The Recovery Of This Priceless Historical Treasure…
