A total of 17 famous paintings worth hundreds of million yen were stolen from the Ikebukuro branch of Tobu Department Store Co. and a Tokyo home over a short period in mid-August, it was learned Saturday.
On the night of Aug. 14, the resident of Setagaya Ward came home to find that six paintings had been stolen, including an oil painting by French impressionist Pierre Auguste Renoir, which alone is worth 170 million yen, two works by Marc Chagall and a painting by Japanese artist Ikuo Hirayama.
The theft was reported to police. Media reports said a Tokyo gallery owner later received an offer from an unidentified caller trying to sell the missing Renoir.
The next day, a Tobu employee discovered that 11 paintings worth 73 million yen were missing from an unlocked storage room on the sixth floor of the store during an inventory.
The works, including a painting by the late Kaii Higashiyama, were in the room during the previous inventory check in February.
Employees were routinely allowed to enter the room, which is close to the floor used for exhibitions and sales of paintings, Tobu officials said.