London: 2000 items missing from British Museum sold on online portal, request made for return
More than 2,000 artifacts have gone missing from the British Museum, including jewelry, which has been seen being sold online. However, efforts are on to get them back. Some of these historical artifacts have also been recovered. Meanwhile, the director of the museum has also resigned from his post as he is deeply hurt by this shameful act.
Some priceless objects were stolen from the British Museum, one of London's major tourist attractions. Museum chairman George Osborne said on Saturday that the British Museum has begun recovering some items that were sold online.
The director of the museum has also resigned from his post after being hurt by this theft. Nearly 2,000 artifacts worth millions of pounds are suspected to have been stolen from the British Museum by one of its senior curators. Explain that thousands of valuable artifacts are displayed in the British Museum, some of which are from India.
The museum had said that most of the missing items were small pieces kept in a collection storage room. These include gold jewelry, semi-precious stone gems, and glass dating from the 15th century BC to the 19th century AD. None of these objects were on public display until recently.
Osborne, Britain's former Chancellor of the Exchequer, said about 2,000 artifacts had gone missing, some of which have already been recovered. Osborne said, "We are dealing with a lot of honest people who will return stolen items. However, probably not all will."
The scam appears to date back to 2021, when a Danish art dealer contacted the British Museum saying he had seen several of the museum's items for sale online. Osborne said that the British Museum initially claimed to have conducted a full investigation, but a subsequent investigation found the first response inadequate.
"We obviously have to improve security," Osborne said. The British Museum, one of the most famous and prestigious museums in the world, was established in 1753. The museum's display of impressive historical artefacts such as the Rosetta Stone and Parthenon sculptures attracts visitors from all over the world.
The scam proved extremely embarrassing for the museum. Indeed, due to the repeated demands made by the institution to return many of its artifacts, it was considered very important to the museum.
Museum director Hartwig Fischer resigned from his position on Friday and an unnamed employee was fired on Wednesday.
He said during his resignation, "Yes, the museum has made mistakes. Yes, we have apologized for them, but we are cleaning up the mess and we are going to be the British Museum that I think the country and The world can be proud."
