France: Jewels stolen from Napoleon’s niece: €110,000 worth

Jewels belonging to Princess Mathilde Bonaparte (1820-1904) were stolen from the Hébert Museum in La Tronge near Grenoble between Saturday and Sunday, prosecutors said on Monday. On Sunday, a person close to the case said the package was discovered shortly after 5 a.m. when the building’s alarm went off. “Museum personnel arrived at the site and flew two people away,” the source added.

“The thieves used a ladder to break the shutter of the room where the jewels were,” explained Grenoble public prosecutor Eric Vaillant, adding that the investigation had been handed over to the judicial police. Initially, Vaillant noted that the jewels of Princess Mathilde Bonaparte, one of Napoleon I’s nieces, were “property of the Fondation de France and lent by the Musée d’Orsay,” but the latter refused to engage in this loan. The deposit was made by the Fondation de France, he said.

“We are at the disposal of justice and investigators, and we regret this attack on cultural heritage,” a spokesman for the Hébert museum said in response to his role on Sunday. According to the latter, who did not want to give further details, the stolen jewels are part of a permanent exhibition at the Isère museum.

Opened in 1979, the Hébert Museum is located in the summer home of painter Ernst Hébert (1817-1908) in over two hectares of parkland. Exhibiting the artist’s works, its collections are enriched by the deposits of national museums, particularly the Louvre Museum, Marseilles and Grenoble Museums, according to the museum’s website.