(ECNS) -- A bronze Buddhist statue displayed at the Guanfu Museum in Beijing is suspected of a nationally registered cultural relic stolen from the Temple of the Five Lords in south China's Hainan Province more than two decades ago.
In a statement released on Thursday, the Guanfu Museum said it purchased the bronze statue from a legally operated antiques market in Xiamen, Fujian province, in 2005 and has displayed it in Beijing for nearly 20 years.
It had never before received any inquiries or claims regarding the artifact.
After learning of the online reports, the museum said it has reported the matter to the National Cultural Heritage Administration and the Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau, requesting an official examination to determine the facts.
A staff member at the Temple of the Five Lords said the temple has reported the information to relevant authorities.
According to an official database of stolen and missing cultural relics, the missing bronze statue, dating back to the late Song Dynasty (960-1279) or early Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), was stolen on April 30, 2000.
The Guanfu Museum, established by renowned cultural relics collector Ma Weidu in 1996, is the first private museum since the founding of the People's Republic of China. It officially opened to the public in Beijing on January 18, 1997.
The case is under investigation.
(By Zhang Dongfang)
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