San Diego

A $17,500 reward for information leading to the recovery of three pieces of pre-Columbian art that were stolen from Mingei International Museum of World Folk Art is being offered by the insurance company that underwrites the exhibition.

The New York-based Cigna Insurance Co. put up the reward in the hope that it would yield information in an investigation that has gone cold, said William F. Smith, a representative for the company who works solely with fine arts. Investigators from the San Diego Police Department and the FBI still have no leads in the Oct. 23 theft, he said.

The reward is about 10% of the estimated $175,000 value of the stolen artifacts, Smith said. It applies only if all three pieces are returned, he said.

The three pieces--a terra cotta vase dated AD 750-800, and two sculptures--were part of an exhibition at the Mingei entitled, “Pre-Columbian Flora and Fauna: Continuity of Plant and Animal Themes in Mesoamerican Art.” The show opened Sept. 30 and will run through mid-February.