A book designed by Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dali was stolen from an art museum in central France, prosecutors said on Monday.

The "Book of the Apocalypse," featuring a cover made of bronze, was taken from the contemporary art center in the town of Issoire, the prosecutor's office in the city of Clermont-Ferrand said, describing the piece as "highly valuable."

It is the latest in a long series of art thefts from museums around France and adds to concerns about the protection of the country's cultural assets.

"It belongs to a private owner who had a small private contemporary art museum housing other, lesser-value works," Issoire's mayor Bertrand Barraud told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The loss is "incalculable" and "it's the work of a lifetime," he added.

He said he had spoken with the owner, who was "deeply distressed and says that it is part of France's heritage that has been stolen."

Barraud was unable to say whether the theft involved a break-in.