Oak Bay and Saanich police are on the lookout for stolen art after a June 13 theft at the University of Victoria.
Oak Bay Police were called that day for a break and enter to the Fraser building where a vending machine and a few lockers were broken into and a valuable piece of First Nations art was stolen.
“This is a joint investigation between the Oak Bay Police and Saanich Police as the University of Victoria campus is situated within both municipalities” said A/Sgt. Jereme Leslie of Saanich Police Department. “The University of Victoria has owned this piece for 20 years and they hope for the quick recovery of this culturally significant piece of art.”
The stolen art piece, Sul-Sultan was created by Tsartlip Coast Salish artist Temoseng Charles Elliott in 1995-96 and was commission by and is owned by the Faculty of Law. Sul-Sultan is carved cedar with inlaid abalone, depicting a cedar spindle whorl with central human figure flanked by two wolf figures and a frog at lower centre area. The whorl sits in a painted carved stand and the overall value is estimated at $10,000.
Police ask anyone in the area between 5:30 p.m. on June 12 and 5:30 a.m. on June 13 and saw anything suspicious, to call Saanich police at 250-475-4321, Oak Bay police at 250-592-2424 or Crimestoppers at 1- 800-222-TIPS (8477).