A thief has walked off with three middle-finger sculptures by renowned dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei from the same gallery.

The sculptures – officially titled ‘Artist’s Hand’ – all make the international up-yours gesture with the middle finger of a left fist thrust upwards.

Curators at an art gallery on Neuer Wall – an upmarket shopping street in the Neustadt district of Hamburg, Germany – say the theft took place on 25th April.

The Hamburg police, however, only reported it two days later (27th April).

The thief took the artwork from a display case during the gallery’s opening hours, according to the investigation.

Weiwei, 64, is one of the world’s leading conceptual artists, whose works can be seen in museums and exhibitions around the world.

His photographic series Study of Perspective (1995 to 2017) shows him giving the finger to well-known institutions, landmarks and monuments globally.

A 2011 Time article says the gesture “confronts its viewer with a universal and concise statement of political opposition”.

Weiwei went on to have his left hand seen in the photos – middle finger still raised – cast in Murano glass.

But three of the resulting sculptures were stolen from the Hamburg gallery on Monday, and the police are now asking the public to come forward with any clues.

The Hamburg police said: “Witnesses who have made observations in this context or who can provide information about the perpetrator or the whereabouts of the sculptures are asked to contact the Hamburg police hotline on 040/4286-56789 or a police station.”

The investigation is ongoing.