Local police think they are dealing with a targeted robbery

Apr 16, 2014 18:39 GMT  ·  By
Ten items connected to the French Emperor were stolen from a historic homestead
   Ten items connected to the French Emperor were stolen from a historic homestead

Reports say that a series of rare artifacts linked to French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, including a lock of his hair, a ring and a snuff box, have been stolen from a museum in Melbourne, Australia.

Local police revealed that the thief (or thieves) broke into the Nepean Highway house in Mount Martha at about 11.20pm on Thursday. They reportedly gained entry into The Briars historic homestead through a bathroom window and got away with some “priceless” items connected to Bonaparte.

“The offender(s) have jemmied open cabinets inside and stolen numerous priceless antiques. The stolen items included a ring and a glass frame containing Napoleon's hair, a ribbon inscribed by Napoleon in 1815 and a snuff box,” police said in a statement.

Officers believe they are dealing with a targeted robbery, as it lasted just 10 minutes and the burglars stole ten specific artifacts from inside the museum, including the ones mentioned by the police: a glass frame containing Napoleon's hair, a ring, a snuff box, a silver inkwell set with three gold Napoleon coins, and a ribbon inscribed by Napoleon himself.

Security guards arrived at the historical homestead at about 11.30pm, which is exactly 10 minutes after the alarm went off.

“We think it's probably destined for a private collection. It could well be stolen to order,” Detective Sergeant Michael Lamb told ABC News. He added that the unique pieces of history would be very difficult to dispose of publicly.

After the incident, the museum officials decided to re-locate the rest of the collection, which includes nearly 500 items, as a precautionary measure.

According to the museum's coordinator Steve York, the collection of artifacts was put together by Dame Mable Brooks, the great-granddaughter of Englishman Alexander Balcombe who met Napoleon when he was exiled on the island of St Helena.

“Alexander Balcombe settled here [in Australia] in 1846 and sat on Napoleon's knee as a little boy. The family were good friends with the emperor when he was sent into exile on St Helena,” York said.

The entire collection has been exhibited last year at the National Gallery of Victoria.

Napoleon Bonaparte was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1814. He spent the final six years of his life in exile on the island of Saint Helena in the Atlantic Ocean. In his first two months there, he lived in a pavilion on the Briars estate, which belonged to a William Balcombe, who was probably related to Alexander Balcombe.