Two 16th century Italian Renaissance artefacts that were stolen from the Louvre Museum In Paris, France more than 35 years ago have been returned.
A breastplate and ceremonial helmet were donated to the Louvre in 1922 but were subsequently stolen in 1983 in circumstances that, to this day, remain a mystery.
The items were found in January during an auction linked to an estate in the southwestern city of Bordeaux.
A military antiques expert was asked to examine the artefacts and became suspicious, before informing the police, who identified them from a national database of stolen artworks. Bordeaux prosecutors are now investigating how they ended up in the family's estate.
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A breastplate and ceremonial helmet were donated to the Louvre in 1922 but were subsequently stolen in 1983. /AFP
Philippe Malgouyres, the Louvre's head of heritage artworks, was shocked when the artefacts were returned together.
"I was certain we would see them reappear one day because they are such singular objects. But I could never have imagined that it would work out so well – that they would be in France and still together," he said.
"They are prestige weapons, made with virtuosity, sort of the equivalent of a luxury car today. In the 16th century, weapons became works of very luxurious art. Armour became an ornament that had nothing to do with its use."
"The Burgundian [breastplate] is particularly important because it has all this decoration in very high relief with ancient divinities, scenes from Roman history and there you see very well, all you see here is inlaid gold," he added.
There are 100,000 objects on France's database of global stolen artworks, with 900 added last year alone.
The last theft from the Louvre was in 1998, a portrait by 19th-century French artist Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, which is still being searched for, Jean-Luc Martinez, president-director of the museum said.