Some of the valuables stolen from the British Museum in London have since been recovered. Chairman George Osborne said this during the radio program Today from the BBC. Osborne did not say how many museum pieces have already been tracked down.
According to British media, up to 2,000 museum pieces were stolen, including jewelery and precious stones. The museum has not confirmed that number.
It was announced in mid-August that several objects from the museum’s collection had ‘disappeared, been stolen or damaged’. According to Osborne, the museum discovered the theft earlier this year. It would concern gold jewellery, precious stones and glass dating from between the 15th century BC and the 19th century AD. A museum employee was fired for suspected involvement and the police launched an investigation.
The museum then said it would take legal action against the employee, and Osborne said the museum has used “all disciplinary powers” to “approach the person we believe is responsible.” It now appears that some of the pieces have been recovered.
Bright spot
Where exactly is not clear. To that question, Osborne replied, “Some members of the antiques community are actively working with us.” He also called the finds so far a ‘light in a dark cloud’. The chairman said he was confident that “honest people” would return items found to be stolen, although he acknowledged that “others may not.”
Police have not yet arrested anyone in the case. Previous suspicions of stealing may not have been taken seriously, according to Osborne, because museum employees could not believe that someone in their midst played a role in the theft.
Warned
According to Osborne, the museum had long been a victim of thefts and more could have been done to prevent that. British Museum director Hartwig Fischer announced on Friday that he would resign because the museum had failed in an investigation into the thefts in 2021. An art dealer warned the museum at the time. The museum’s security needs to be improved, says Osborne.
The majority of the objects in question were stored in a warehouse belonging to one of the museum’s collections. None of the objects have been exhibited recently. They were mainly intended for scientific research.
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