"Return the cultural relics to us!", British Museum

There are numerous security loopholes, suspected to have been committed by "domestic thieves". In recent days, there have been another theft scandal at the 270 year old British Museum, with a large number of precious cultural relics missing, causing shock to public opinion both domestically and internationally. The British media even called this a "national shame".

Some media have described the British Museum as a warehouse for collecting so-called "colonial spoils" from Britain. Now, the theft scandal continues to ferment, and its ability to protect cultural relics is once again being questioned. Many countries have protested and demanded the return of their own cultural relics.

Flying without a trace!

Up to 2000 collections or lost items

George Osborne, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the British Museum, revealed on August 26th that it is estimated that as many as 2000 cultural relics may have been lost.

The lost collections include:

Gold and jewelry from the 15th century BC to the 19th century AD

Silver necklace

Ancient Coins

Multiple ceramic fragments

Multiple cultural relics that have not been exhibited, etc

Although museums have begun to recover some stolen items, Christopher Marinero, CEO of the International Art Recovery Company, believes that recovering stolen artifacts may take decades, which involves complex legal and appraisal issues, and many stolen collections seem to have not been properly classified and recorded.

It is difficult to prevent domestic thieves,

Is the British Museum willing to cover up?

What surprised the outside world even more is that the theft of cultural relics is likely to be committed by "domestic thieves".

According to British media reports, the lost collection is believed to have been taken "for a considerable period of time", with some of the items ultimately sold on e-commerce websites at prices far below the actual estimated value - reportedly, one Roman artifact worth up to £ 50000 was sold for only £ 40.

The employee involved or Peter Higgs, a senior curator of Mediterranean culture who has worked at the institution for over 30 years.

According to Danish art collector Ether Gradder, as early as a few years ago, he discovered someone suspected of selling precious collections from the British Museum on e-commerce websites. The evidence shows that the seller's e-commerce website account is the same as the social media account used by Higgs. In addition, the seller's PayPal account is reportedly associated with a bank account under Higgs's name.

However, Glader stated that when he issued a warning to Hartwech Fischer, the director of the British Museum, and others in 2021, it was strongly denied by the other party.

Glader said, "He basically told me to get out of here and take care of my own affairs." "I can't understand how any responsible museum staff can see evidence of a stolen collection without immediately issuing an alarm." He also accused Fischer of "covering everything up.".

At present, the British Museum claims to have dismissed one employee and reported it to the police. The London Police Department has also launched an investigation, but no one has been arrested yet.

The security of the pictures is full of loopholes,

Frequent theft cases occur

Under public pressure, the director of the British Museum, Fischer, announced his resignation on August 25th. However, his resignation did not quell doubts from the outside world about the museum's ability to manage cultural relics.

It is reported that the British Museum, established in 1753, is one of the most visited museums in the world, with a collection of 8 million items. The official website of the British Museum shows that there are nearly 30000 Chinese collections in the museum.

In the view of Martin Herninger, a professor of Roman art at the University of Oxford, the "negligence" and "indifference" of museums towards their collections ultimately led thieves to believe that they could steal most of the things.

In fact, in the past few years, theft cases have occurred frequently at the British Museum.

In 1993, the Roman coins in the museum's collection were stolen;

In 2002, a 2500 year old ancient Greek statue was stolen;

In 2004, more than ten pieces of Chinese bronze mirrors, armor, and gemstones were stolen;

In 2017, a Cartier ring diamond worth £ 750000 was revealed to have been stolen in 2011

"The security of the British Museum is extremely poor, allowing thieves to steal valuable items for many years," a former museum staff member who declined to be named told The Independent in the UK.

According to analysis, the British Museum has approximately 80000 cultural relics on public display, while the majority of the remaining collections are stored in different locations. However, due to the fact that many cultural relics have not been archived, there are numerous errors and omissions in their cataloging, coupled with their age, which provides opportunities for thieves to take advantage of.

Multiple countries speak up for pictures!

Return the cultural relics to us

As a warehouse for collecting so-called "colonial spoils" from Britain, can the British Museum really protect cultural relics? In the view of British archaeologist and anthropologist Dan Hicks, this theft incident should prompt the British Museum to change its "imperialist" stance as a custodian of cultural relics. "

In recent days, many countries have also issued calls for the British Museum to return their own cultural relics.

According to Sky News on August 24th, Aba Tijani, Director of the Nigerian National Museum and Monuments Committee, said in an interview, "It is shocking that some countries and museums have been telling us that Benin's bronze artifacts are not safe to keep in Nigeria, but now there have been theft incidents at their place."

The bronze artifacts of the Kingdom of Benin, as one of the most precious artifacts in Africa, were looted by British soldiers and sailors in 1897 and later scattered in the hands of multiple museums and private collectors in Europe and America. The largest batch of over 900 bronze artifacts is housed in the British Museum.

Tijani said, "These are stolen cultural relics and they should be returned to their place of origin." He emphasized that the country will send a letter to the British Museum and the UK government within a few weeks, demanding immediate return.

At the same time, Greece has also made similar demands to the British Museum.

In 1801, the British Ambassador to Constantinople, Count Elgin, removed the stone carvings from the Parthenon sculpture and transported them away. These stone carvings are mainly housed in the British Museum. Greece has been demanding the return of cultural relics since about 30 years ago, while the British government has consistently refused and claimed that the Parthenon sculpture was not looted by war, but obtained through legal means.

The head of the Greek Archaeologists Association believes that after the theft incident at the British Museum, the UK cannot claim that Greek cultural heritage will be better protected in the UK than in Greece.

Many netizens have also posted on social media, demanding that the British Museum take action. Someone said, "When can the British Museum return what they stole from Egypt, India, and Iran? I can list more affected countries..."

The picture also includes a call from netizens, "We strongly demand that the British Museum return all stolen cultural relics. Countries that have been robbed of their national treasures by colonialists should unite and retrieve their cultural relics."