The missing head of Christian Petersen’s “Ring of Life” sculpture set an underlying tone of solemnity among friends and family at the Brunnier Art Museum Sunday. The head of the little boy statue was presumed to be stolen Thursday night, said Gene Deisinger, special operations captain with the Department of Public Safety. A DPS student officer discovered the headless sculpture at 10 p.m. “People have been very upset and shocked that this would happen,” said Dana Michels, associate curator for the Brunnier Art Museum, who helped host a Christian Petersen family reunion Sunday. The statue is part of a sculpture of a little boy situated between his sister and brother inside the south entrance of MacKay Hall. It is one of several statues on the ISU campus made by Petersen, who was the first ISU artist in residence. Many events have been planned recently to celebrate Petersen and his works. Deisinger said the department continues to search for the missing head. “This is a piece of sculpture that has significant historical value and meaning to the Iowa State community, and so first and foremost we would like to see the missing piece returned,” Deisinger said. “Second, anyone who was in MacKay Hall or the area who may have seen anything, we urge them to contact our office.” Deisinger said a Psychology 101 class was taking a test in a classroom near the statue between 8 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. He hopes someone heard or saw something that can help the department find the head and restore the statue. Deisinger said DPS has not yet determined how the head was removed. Mary Petersen, Christian Petersen’s daughter, spent Sunday afternoon at the reunion chatting with old classmates from Gilbert and enjoying her father’s collection of art. “I don’t like it when anything is desecrated,” Petersen said. Mary Atherly, collections manager for the Brunnier Art Museum, said the sculpture has sacredness. “It’s a priceless piece because it meant so much to Christian Petersen and his wife,” she said. “It’s so tender; it really speaks life.” Atherly said it would cost the university more than $10,000 to replace the head. The museum would have to hire conservators from the east and west coasts and pay their wages of close to $100 per hour in addition to supplies. “We hope whoever took it realizes it doesn’t have any monetary value outside of the university and would return it,” she said. “It’s the `Ring of Life’ for MacKay Hall, and they felt they had been personally violated,” she said of those who work in MacKay. This is not the first time the head has been removed, Atherly said. Twice in the 1980s, when the sculpture sat outdoors, the two male heads were taken and “mysteriously replaced,” Atherly said. In 1991, the sculpture was moved inside to the south entrance of MacKay, and a replica of the sculpture was placed in MacKay’s courtyard during a conservation project, she said. Three terra-cotta children are the subject of the round fountain. The sculpture symbolizes marriage and the children represent the “jewels” of marriage, according to a museum pamphlet. There is one girl lying down and two boys sitting next to her. Iowa State’s theme this year is “Strengthening Families to Become the Best,” and Michels said Petersen’s sculpture was a symbol for the theme. “It’s just priceless, and we hope we can recover the head and restore the sculpture that Christian Petersen made for the university,” she said. If anyone has any information regarding the statue’s head, contact DPS at 294-4428.