A bronze mirror that is more than 1,600 years old was stolen from a museum in Dunhuang in northwest China's Gansu Province, the Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday, citing a museum curator.

The stolen bronze mirror of Dunhuang museum is seen in this undated photo. [Xinhua]

The mirror, dating from the Wei and Jin Dynasties (220-420 AD), and three others of lesser value went missing from the Dunhuang Municipal Museum during opening hours on August 24.

The mirror, 11 centimeters in diameter and a mere 0.3 cm thick, has the Chinese characters "Wei Zhi San Gong," translated as "among top ranking officials," inscribed on the back. It is rated a Class A heritage cultural property under national protection.

The Dunhuang Municipal Museum reported the theft to local police as soon as it found the mirror missing in the daytime of August 24, when the building was open to tourists. Police were investigating the case, curator Fu Licheng said.

Dunhuang was a wealthy oasis town along the Silk Road, and the frescoes and carvings of its Mogao grottoes are some of the best preserved examples of Buddhist art in China. For centuries, Buddhist monks at Dunhuang collected scriptures from the West and pilgrims traveling along the famous silk road to the West painted murals inside the Mogao Caves to form the world-famous grottoes.

A number of bronze mirrors have been unearthed in the Hexi Corridor region in Gansu Province in recent years, but the stolen one was among the best preserved.

However, the missing mirror could not compare with relics in the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang in terms of historic value, according to Fu.

Three other ancient bronze mirrors of lesser value were also stolen from the municipal museum.

The museum's sole infrared security system was operating the evening before the theft occurred. In the daytime, however, all cultural relics were guarded by security personnel.

Gansu has so far this year reported six thefts of cultural relics, including one from another museum, before the case involving the Dunhuang Municipal Museum, according to a recent circular from the provincial bureau of cultural relics.

(Xinhua News Agency September 4, 2008)