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Two suspects are at large after a blue and white Chinese porcelain vase, dating from the 18th century, was shattered when two men tried to steal it from a Mossel Bay Museum last week.
The special vase was protected in a glass case in the Dias Museum. The vase was almost stolen in 2013, but thieves left it outside the museum after they were caught.
The antique piece was apparently given to Sias Meijer from Hartenbos by the captain of an East India ship in 1734.
The monetary value of the vase, which was 50 cm high and 64 cm wide, is unknown but it was considered a coveted collector's item.
