Missing: Two bronze doors. Possibly stolen, or possibly not.
Christchurch's Catholic Cathedral has misplaced the doors to its tabernacle, valued at $185,000, after they were removed from the 106-year-old earthquake-damaged building for safekeeping.
The only problem is the board of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament doesn't know who has them.
"A person, who we believe is a parishioner or friend of the cathedral, made themselves known to one of the staff working on the cathedral site, and said they were collecting the doors to put them in safe keeping," board chairman Lance Ryan said.
They were created by sculptor Ria Bancroft and stand 51cm high and 79cm wide.
They went into the cathedral in 1977. The left door depicts the death of Christ and the right shows the resurrection.
Mr Ryan said they were designed as "church art" and had been viewed widely and as such had almost no sale value.
"Because of their distinctiveness ... the doors are instantly recognisable as stolen property for the next couple of generations."
Detective Sergeant Richard Quested said scrap metal dealers were being asked to keep an eye out for the doors.
News home