More than 600 high-value artefacts were stolen from a building in the English city of Bristol where items from a museum collection were being stored, police said on Thursday.

Avon and Somerset Police said that in the early hours of 25 September, four men allegedly broke into a building in the Cumberland Basin area during the early hours, reportedly targeting items from Bristol Museum's collection on the British Empire and Commonwealth. The burglary had not previously been publicised.

Detectives are reviewing CCTV footage and conducting forensic investigations to track down the suspects, according to the BBC.

The police are now appealing for help to identify the men from CCTV footage which showed them walking along a street.

"The theft of many items which carry a significant cultural value is a significant loss for the city," said Dan Burgan, an officer investigating the case.

A number of artefacts from India dating back to the British colonial era are also among the “high value” items stolen in the burglary, the police said on Thursday.

Among the items stolen in the robbery include an ivory Buddha and a waist belt buckle belonging to an East India Company officer.

“The theft of many items which carry a significant cultural value is a significant loss for the city,” said Detective Constable Dan Burgan of the Avon and Somerset Police.

“These items, many of which were donations, form part of a collection that provides insight into a multi-layered part of British history, and we are hoping that members of the public can help us to bring those responsible to justice.

“So far, our enquiries have included significant CCTV enquiries as well as forensic investigations and speaking, liaising with the victims,” he said.

The officer appealed for members of the public to contact the force if they recognise anyone from the CCTV footage released this week or may have come across any of the possible items being sold online.

It remains unclear why the police appeal is being issued over two months after the burglary.

The Bristol Museum website states that its British Empire and Commonwealth collection is made up of household belongings, souvenirs, photographs and papers of British people who lived and worked in the colonies.

It is designed to give visitors an insight into the workings of the British Empire and the lives of the people who made it function.

“We make these sources available to help people and communities worldwide to explore difficult, forgotten or hidden histories from their own perspectives.

“The majority of the collection was previously held by the former British Empire & Commonwealth Museum in Bristol,” the museum states. The collection includes around 2,000 items in its film section, dating from 1920 to the 1970s, with “strong amateur footage” from India and countries in Africa.

The theft follows a robbery at Paris's Louvre museum in October, which exposed major security lapses at the world's most visited museum.