Dalí-Designed Bronze Book Cover Stolen From French Museum

(MENAFN- USA Art News) A colossal, 330-pound bronze book cover, designed by Salvador Dalí and adorned with precious stones, seashells, and cutlery, was stolen overnight on Sunday from a private contemporary art museum in Issoire, central France. The theft was reported by Le Monde.

The artwork, known as the Livre de l'Apocalypse (Book of Revelation or Apocalypse of St John), was a collaborative project initiated by French art publisher Joseph Forêt between 1958 and 1961. It featured contributions from 14 modern artists and writers, including Jean Cocteau, Bernard Buffet, Léonard Foujita, Leonor Fini, Ossip Zadkine, and Jean Giono. Dalí's contribution to the cover included a small figure of Christ painted on a golden plate. Pablo Picasso was also invited to participate but, according to Le Figaro, stated it was“either him or Dalí,” leading Forêt to choose Dalí.

Fortunately, the book's 150 large interior pages, made from sheepskin parchments, were not on display with the cover and remain secure. With its pages, the complete book weighs approximately 463 pounds. When originally created, it was considered the world's heaviest and most expensive book, valued at 2 million francs, or about $343,000, according to AFP.

Police are investigating the incident. The owner, artist and art restorer Christian Karoutzos, told local media La Montagne that the thieves“broke everything,” including a plexiglass display case protecting the book and one of the museum's large, gated doors. Karoutzos discovered the theft on Monday morning upon arriving at the museum, which also serves as his art studio.

Karoutzos expressed his distress to local radio France Info, stating,“They assassinated France last night, they assassinated French heritage.” Local prosecutors described the book as an“exceptional and unique” work in a statement, while Issoire mayor Bertrand Barraud called it“the work of a lifetime” with“inestimable” value and loss.

Karoutzos is both the owner of the book and the founder of the small museum where it was scheduled to be on exhibit until the end of October. He acquired the book in 2003 from Japanese owners who had planned to dismantle and sell it in separate pieces. He declined to disclose the exact purchase price but told Le Figaro that it cost several million euros and took a decade to pay in regular installments.

This theft is the latest in a series of art-related crimes in France and across Europe. Recent incidents include a break-in at the Louvre in October 2025, which resulted in the theft of many of the country's remaining crown jewels, and the snatching of four Renoir paintings from another small museum in southern France just last month. The French government has responded by vowing to enhance security at cultural institutions nationwide.

We previously reported:

Seven heirs of Salomon Flavian are asking a Paris court to cancel the June 2024 sale of a Pissarro painting, alleging it was looted by Nazis in 1941.

Source: ARTnews

MENAFN06102026005694012507ID1111769962