BY ASSOCIATED PRESS
Left: The Cavalryman statue (Photo by Janice Nesamani). Right: Statue without thumb
Chinese authorities are calling for a heavy punishment for a Delaware man charged with stealing a thumb from an ancient terracotta warrior statue on display at a museum in Pennsylvania.
Federal authorities 24-year-old Michael Rohana was attending an Ugly Sweater Party at the Franklin Institute on Dec. 21, when he entered the “Terracotta Warriors of the First Emperor” exhibit.
Authorities say Rohana took selfies while posing next to a statue known as “The Cavalryman,” and then snapped off the statue’s left thumb, put it in his pocket and left.
Museum staff noticed the missing thumb on Jan. 8, and the FBI traced it to Rohana five days later.
Chinese authorities are demanding compensation for the damage caused to the $4.5 million relic. While the museum has apologized for the incident, an official from the Shaanxi Cultural Heritage Promotion Centre, which arranged for the loan of 10 of the statues, condemned the act and said Rohana should be handed a severe penalty.
Rohana was charged with the theft and concealment of a major artwork, and released on bail.
“The terracotta warriors are national treasures of our country,” the unnamed official was quoted as saying.
“Their historical and artistic value are impossible to value … We express strong resentment and condemnation towards this theft and the destruction of our heritage.”
A museum spokeswoman says the statue will be repaired. She says a security contractor did not follow standard procedures the night of the alleged theft.
The statues were on display in Seattle last year — they are part of a clay army of about 8,000 soldiers, charioteers and horses unearthed in Xian, capital of northwestern China’s Shaanxi province.