Dalí-Designed Bronze Book Cover Stolen from French Museum

A 330-pound bronze book cover designed by Salvador Dalí was stolen overnight on Sunday from a small private contemporary art museum in Issoire, central France, according to Le Monde. The cover, encrusted with precious stones, seashells, and cutlery, depicts a small figure of Christ on a golden plate.

What is the stolen object?

The cover belongs to the Livre de l'Apocalypse, or Book of Revelation, a collective art project produced between 1958 and 1961. French art publisher Joseph Forêt recruited 14 modern artists and writers to the project, including Jean Cocteau, Bernard Buffet, Léonard Foujita, Leonor Fini, Ossip Zadkine, and Jean Giono. Pablo Picasso was also invited, but told Forêt that it was "either him or Dalí," according to Le Figaro. Forêt chose Dalí.

The book's 150 interior parchment pages, made from sheepskins, remain in safe keeping and were not displayed alongside the cover at the time of the theft. The full book weighs about 463 pounds. When completed, it held the title of the world's heaviest and most expensive book, then valued at 2 million francs (about $343,000), according to AFP.

How was the museum breached?

The owner, artist and restorer Christian Karoutzos, discovered the theft on Monday morning when he arrived at the museum, which he also uses as a studio. He told local outlet La Montagne that "they broke everything," including a plexiglass display case and one of the museum's large gated doors.

Speaking to France Info, Karoutzos said: "They assassinated France last night, they assassinated French heritage." Local prosecutors described the book as an "exceptional and unique" work. Mayor Bertrand Barraud called it "the work of a lifetime," whose value and loss are "inestimable."

What is the book's provenance?

Karoutzos bought the book in 2003 from Japanese owners who had intended to divide and sell it in pieces. He declined to disclose the exact price but told Le Figaro it cost several million euros, paid off in regular installments over a decade. The cover had been scheduled to remain on view at the museum through the end of October.

What context surrounds the theft?

The Issoire theft follows a string of high-profile cultural crimes in France and Europe. In October 2025, thieves broke into the Louvre and escaped with much of France's remaining crown jewels. Last month, four paintings by Renoir were snatched from another small museum in the south of France. The French government has since pledged to reinforce security at cultural institutions nationwide.

The investigation into how the theft took place is ongoing. Police have not named any suspects, and recovery prospects for a 330-pound bronze object marked with Dalí's name remain unclear.