Surveillance video provided to NBC Chicago on Friday shows a man attacking the statues outside the Chinese-American Museum of Chicago with a hammer.
The attack on the lion statues took place during the early morning hours of March 2 and caused at least $10,000 worth of damage, said museum director Anita Luk.
In the video, a man is seen staggering up to one of the lions. The camera catches a flash of a hammer before the man picks away at the teeth of the feline. He then walks out of view of the camera and attacks a second lion.
The lions -- called Chinese Guardian Lions or Imperial Guardian Lions -- came to the museum, at
238 W. 23rd St., last year as a gift from Chinese officials. The statues were created from a single piece of blue stone from China's Fujian Province, DNAInfo Chicago reported.
Anyone with information about the attack should Chicago police or the the Chinese-American Museum of Chicago at 312-949-1000.
