Prized Chinese Artifact Stolen
A 55-pound crystal ball believed to have been made for the empress dowager of China and a 2,000-year-old bronze statuette of the Egyptian god Osiris were stolen from the University Museum overnight.
The artifacts, displayed in locked cases, were discovered missing this morning by a guard, said Laurie Fenlason, museum spokeswoman. The crystal ball has been the central artifact on exhibit in the museum rotunda. It was insured for $100,000. The ball is 10 inches in diameter and is made of rock crystal. It dates from the late 19th Century. The 10-inch statuette, valued at $15,000, dates to the Ptolemaic era.
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