San Diego - Los Angeles Times

Two clay figures of pre-Columbian art, worth about $4,000, have been taken from Balboa Park’s Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego police said.

The pieces, on loan from the Museum of Man, were taken about 5:45 p.m. Thursday, museum executive director Arthur Ollman said. The museum stays open until 9 p.m. on Thursdays, he said.

One figure was a canine effigy vessel, about a foot high and a foot long. The other was an 8-inch-high clay mask. Both pieces are from Colima, Mexico, Ollman said.

“They’re not exactly rare objects, but museums don’t like to lose anything,” he said.

The figures were on a pedestal covered with plexiglass lids, which were screwed-down and locked, Ollman said. The art pieces had been exhibited for about 10 days in the Photographic Arts

museum, where they were scheduled for display until September, he said.

“Whoever did this was prepared. They came in here with the correct tools and a time when there were few people in the gallery,” he said. “At least two people came in here ready to work

quickly.”

The museum, on the Prado, is protected by mechanical and staff surveillance, Ollman said.