Yes, I too was more surprised that a bunch of priceless paintings are housed in a Cairo museum that the fact that a Van Gogh was stolen.
But get this: they didn’t steal the real one!
According to an Egyptian source of mine, the real one was stolen a decade ago when corrupt American-supported dictator/pharaoh Hosni Mubarak’s mysterious “business tycoon” son, Alaa Mubarak, sold the painting in Kuwait (not related to its first theft, but to an exhibition in Kuwait in the 1990s) and replaced it with a good fake.
And this “theft” is simply a way to cover for the real theft years ago. Clever.
Did I mention my friend was no idea? But if it’s true, it means that the fake that was taken from the museum will not be recovered, since the the people who ordered the theft, who have the original (or work for those who do), would simply destroy it.
Dr. Moskos,
The real mind-bender is that this could be misinformation to make potential buyers wary. If they think the current theft is of a fake, then the price plummets. The thieves are left with a worthless original!
Once you have deception in mind, it can only get more interesting!