People are being asked to keep their eyes open for a rather distinct sculpture that was stolen from the Cowichan Lake Education Centre on Sept. 15.

The sculpture, carved by the Dominion Sculptor John Philip Smith, the official carver for Canada鈥檚 Parliament who is responsible for all carvings in the Parliament buildings, was stolen sometime between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. during the last day of the Vancouver Island Stone Sculpture Symposium that was held at the CLEC.

Daniel Cline, director of the sculpture symposium, said Smith hand carved the sculpture in Indiana limestone during the week of the symposium and donated it to the Vancouver Island Sculptors Guild, which organized the symposium, to be auctioned off to help raise funds for future symposiums.

He said the theft of the sculpture, which he estimates is worth several thousand dollars, is a great loss to the sculptors guild as fundraising is one of the ways that the organization is able to pay for its symposiums.

鈥淚 was packing up and left the CLEC with a load at about 1 p.m. and when I got back at 3 p.m., the sculpture was gone,鈥� Cline said.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have space in my trunk to take it in the first load and I could kick myself for not taking right away. It was in a dining hall, about 10 feet from a door to the outside, so someone had gone in there and took it.鈥�

Cline said there were a few kitchen and cleaning staff in the building at the time and he, and officers from the Lake Cowichan RCMP detachment, have been talking to them to determine if they saw or heard anything, but there are no leads at this time.

The sculpture weighs more than 27 kilograms and is more than 50 centimetres high.

Cline said that whoever took it can return it anywhere they like, and no questions will be asked.

He said he expects that the thief will find the sculpture difficult to profit from.

鈥淚t鈥檚 recognizable as a piece by John Philip Smith so whoever took it would never be able to sell it at an auction as many would know that it was stolen,鈥� Cline said.

鈥淭hey would have to sell it to an individual or just keep it in their house. John Philip Smith was generous to come to our symposium and carve this sculpture for us, and we鈥檇 hate to lose it.鈥�

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the sculpture can call Cline at 250-210-2715, or the RCMP at 250-749-6668.