The largest known theft at the British Museum reveals new details that have highlighted the mismanagement of warnings to prevent it, leading to the resignation of its director, German national Hartwig Fischer, last Friday.
The head of the British Museum’s administrative board, George Osborne, informed the English media yesterday that some of the 2,000 stolen artifacts were recovered, but he acknowledged that the 264-year-old institution does not possess a complete archive of its vast collection of antiquities. He also admitted that the museum’s reputation has suffered due to mishandling of the situation.
Fischer, who led the museum for seven years, announced he would resign on July 28, 2024, allowing the election of a new director next autumn and denying rumors linking his decision to the theft scandal before it became public.
However, in light of the gravity facing the museum, he announced his immediate resignation in a statement after a careful review of the events surrounding the robbery. Osborne accepted Fischer’s resignation as museum director and appreciated his integrity in acknowledging the mishandling of the events.
“It is evident,” Fischer said, “that the British Museum did not respond thoroughly as it should have to the warnings in 2021, nor to the problem that has now fully emerged. The responsibility for that failure must ultimately rest with the director.”
The museum has not yet published the official list of stolen objects, which consist of small gold jewels and precious gems. However, The Telegraph and The Times newspapers, which have been the main sources reporting and exposing the theft, estimate that over 1,500 stolen, lost, or destroyed pieces, spanning 3,500 years of history and worth tens of millions of pounds sterling, have been affected. Only three of these items have been identified.
Both sources point to Peter Higgs, a 58-year-old chief curator of Mediterranean Cultures at the museum, as the main suspect. Higgs, who denies his guilt, was dismissed by the museum in early July.
In 2020, specialist Martin Henig identified a Roman gemstone from the British Museum’s collection for sale on the eBay website for just 40 pounds sterling, despite its estimated value ranging from 25,000 to 50,000 pounds sterling.
After the article was returned to the museum, Henig and antiquarian Ittai Gradel found evidence of other items from the same museum.
In 2020, Gradel reported this to the museum through an intermediary, and in February 2021, he reported it directly to Deputy Director Jonathan Williams, along with supporting evidence. Williams responded months later, stating that his warnings were entirely baseless.
In an exclusive interview with The Telegraph on Wednesday, Gradel stated that Fischer and Williams should be dismissed to prevent further harm to the institution.
Fischer offered apologies to Gradel for the inappropriate comments he made earlier in the week and expressed his remorse.
Furthermore, The Times published on Wednesday that the thief had looted the British Museum for two decades. Until now, Higgs had allegedly been selling uncataloged items online, but he was identified when he began selling items from the digital inventory through his PayPal account, creating a pseudonym slightly different from his real name but connected to his Twitter account with his real name.
TYT Newsroom