The British Museum, a public collection devoted to human historical past, artwork, and tradition, is house to tens of millions of precious objects.
It has a everlasting show of eight million works, which is claimed to be the biggest on the planet. Ranked third within the listing of most-visited art museums on the planet, the British Museum was established in 1753 and first opened to the general public in 1759.
As the investigation unfolds, right here’s what we find out about what has occurred to date.
The objects embrace gold, jewelry, and gems of semi-precious stones that date from the fifteenth century BC to the nineteenth century AD.
Former trustee Sir Nigel Boardman and Lucy D’Orsi, the chief constable of the British Transport Police, will lead an unbiased evaluation for the museum and make suggestions on future safety preparations. It can even “kickstart a vigorous programme to recover the missing items”, the museum stated.
A spokesperson for the Met stated: “We have been working alongside the British Museum. There is currently an ongoing investigation – there is no arrest and inquiries continue. We will not be providing any further information at this time.”
The hundreds of things stolen have been reported to be price tens of millions of kilos. However, a brand new report in regards to the lacking objects has famous that it seems “increasingly likely” that the museum may by no means know precisely what has been stolen as a result of “gaps in its inventory”.
The British Museum has sacked a member of staff after artefacts, some almost 3,500 years previous, had been reported “missing, stolen, or damaged”.
Most of the lacking objects had been small items stored in a storeroom belonging to one of many museum’s collections. None had lately been on public show, and so they had been stored primarily for tutorial and analysis functions.
George Osborne, the museum’s chair, stated: “The trustees of the British Museum were extremely concerned when we learned earlier this year that items of the collection had been stolen.
“The trustees have taken decisive action to deal with the situation, working with the team at the museum. We called in the police, imposed emergency measures to increase security, set up an independent review into what happened and lessons to learn, and used all the disciplinary powers available to us to deal with the individual we believe to be responsible.
“Our priority is now threefold: first, to recover the stolen items; second, to find out what, if anything, could have been done to stop this; and third, to do whatever it takes, with investment in security and collection records, to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
“This incident only reinforces the case for the reimagination of the museum we have embarked upon. It’s a sad day for all who love our British Museum, but we’re determined to right the wrongs and use the experience to build a stronger museum.”
Hartwig Fischer, the museum’s director, stated: “This is a highly unusual incident. We take the safeguarding of all the items in our care extremely seriously.
“The museum apologises for what has happened, but we have now brought an end to this – and we are determined to put things right.
“We have already tightened our security arrangements and we are working alongside outside experts to complete a definitive account of what is missing, damaged, and stolen. This will allow us to throw our efforts into the recovery of objects.”
Boardman stated: “The British Museum has been the victim of theft and we are absolutely determined to use our review in order to get to the bottom of what happened, and ensure lessons are learned. We are working alongside the Metropolitan Police in the interest of criminal justice to support any investigations.
“Furthermore, the recovery programme will work to ensure the stolen items are returned to the museum. It will be a painstaking job, involving internal and external experts, but this is an absolute priority – however long it takes – and we are grateful for the help we have already received.”
The museum is not going to be commenting additional whereas the investigation is ongoing.
Peter John Higgs, 56, was revealed by his son as the staff member sacked from his role.
Mr Higgs is a senior curator who labored on the British Museum for 30 years. Legal motion is being taken towards Mr Higgs and the matter can be being investigated by the financial crime command of the Metropolitan police. However, he has not been arrested and maintains his innocence.
Mr Higgs’s son Greg on Thursday informed The Times that his father’s dismissal had come as a shock.
“He’s not done anything,” he stated. “He’s not happy about it at all. He’s lost his job and his reputation and I don’t think it was fair. It couldn’t have been [him]. I don’t think there is even anything missing as far as I’m aware.
“He worked there for what, 35 years without any incidents. They relied on him for so much stuff. And then, yeah, I don’t know what changed.
“He’s devastated about it, because it’s his life’s work, basically. I’ve never known somebody who’s so passionate about what he did. I mean, he’s a world expert in his field.”
The British Museum has been underneath hearth to return artefacts that it has taken from different nations.
For occasion, British Museum director Hartwig Fischer has defended the act, stating that Elgin’s removing of sculptures from the Parthenon within the early 1800s was a “creative act”, and reiterated that the museum’s trustees wouldn't help repatriating them to Athens.
This has provoked a global backlash, and more than half of the British public would like to see them returned to Greece.
The museum’s deaccessioning coverage forbids the return of any object within the British Museum’s assortment until it's a duplicate, bodily broken, or “unfit to be retained in the collection” and now not of public curiosity.
The British Museum Act of 1963 additionally prohibits the establishment from returning works. Though, as public strain continues to develop, the way forward for the British Museum’s repatriation coverage could also be in jeopardy.
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