The Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver was open Sunday. Art lovers viewed remaining artwork by Bill Reid as the RCMP investigated the theft of 12 of his works as well as three Mexican art objects. (CBC)

Fear is mounting at the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver that the stolen gold artwork by late Haida native artist Bill Reid may be melted down because of their gold value.

"That will be a disaster if those pieces are melted down," Moya Waters, the museum's associate director, said Sunday.

This gold box by Bill Reid with a sculptured eagle on top was one of 15 art objects stolen from the UBC museum overnight Friday. (CBC)

Twelve of Reid's works displayed in glass-enclosed, stone showcases were stolen overnight on Friday. They include bracelets, brooches and cufflinks. Three golden-coloured Mexican art objects also vanished.

Waters would not discuss the weight and value of the gold involved but said all of the stolen pieces are insured.

Three bracelets consisting of gold coloured Mexican coins from Oaxaca Mexico like this one were stolen along with 12 pieces of Bill Reid jewelry from the Museum of Anthropology at UBC.

"The RCMP are conducting an investigation. We're working with them very closely, providing photographs and information about the prices," Waters said.

"Of course, there'll be a financial value but for us it's the cultural value that's most significant and that's the thing that we value the most in the museum world and in the art world."

The RCMP did not comment on Sunday on whether investigators had figured out how the heist took place.

Waters said their security system is up to international museum standards with the installation of security cameras, motion sensors and alarms.

Security guards discovered the theft Saturday morning and immediately called the RCMP and the museum staff, she said.

A glass and stone display case that had contained some of the stolen Bill Reid artwork was covered up on Sunday. (CBC)

Waters declined to say if the theft was caught on security tape or if the robbery could have been an inside job.

"I wouldn't want to speculate on that," she said. "That will be part of the investigation."

Reid, who died in 1998, was a native artist rooted in the Haida culture of the Pacific Northwest. He is considered one of Canada's most important artists of the 20th century. Four of his works are used on the Canadian $20 bill.

Michael Nichol Yahgulanaas, an old friend of Reid, said on Sunday he's clinging to the hope that even if the stolen pieces are no longer in the museum, they will survive.

"I think they're going to end up on some wrist, around some neck or on some lapel of some person who may or may not know the history of them," he told CBC News.