Cat burglars boost replica Siamese crown from Paris museum

ABOVE:The Reception Of The Siamese Ambassadors At Fontainebleau. Painting: Jean-Léon Gérôme

A gold replica of a Siamese crown presented to Napoleon III in 1861 was among 15 Asian artifacts stolen from a museum and former royal palace outside of Paris.

French authorities announced yesterday the thieves had artfully circumvented a highly secure section of the Chateau de Fontainebleu to plunder its greatest treasures, including the crown, in about seven minutes before escaping.

“These are probably very professional people who know the place and the protection systems well. They calculated their strike and knew very well what they were after,” the museum’s president, Jean-François Hébert, was quoted in Telegraph report.

A delegation from the then-Kingdom of Siam presented Napoleon III, France’s first elected president who later installed himself as emperor, with the replica crown and two palanquins.

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