Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

Unexpectedly, the British Museum was stolen again.

What is even more outrageous is that this time it seems that it has been stolen for many years and has not been found, and some cultural relics have been posted on second-hand websites, only to be discovered now.

Some netizens laughed angrily after reading the news, stealing from the British Museum and playing tricks, right?

So what was stolen this time?

It is reported that the stolen cultural relics are gold jewelry, precious stones and glass jewelry, all small items, previously preserved in a museum library, most of which are not for exhibition but for academic research.

However, it is embarrassing that the specific museum of cultural relics stolen did not elaborate, let alone the value. Some experts think that they are priceless and priceless. Because the time span of cultural relics is quite large, from the 15th century BC to the 19th century AD, spanning more than 3000 years.

What is even more frustrating is that the time span of the loss of cultural relics is also very large, dating back to 2019 or even earlier. For more than three years, where can I find it? I'm afraid it won't be targeted by the horrors and robbers.

The progress of the investigation is still a mess. The museum has fired a suspected employee, Peter Higgs, director of the Mediterranean Cultural Center, who has worked for the British Museum for more than 30 years and is an absolute veteran.

At present, this action is interpreted by many people as the reason for theft is that there is a mole, but he is not suspected of theft, and the police have not arrested him.

The British Museum official also said that it would strengthen security investment to avoid similar situations, and was working with experts to confirm the missing items as soon as possible, and the police also stated that they would try their best to recover cultural relics.

However, many people believe that there is no hope that the cultural relics will be recovered.

On the one hand, the reason is very simple, that is, people do not know what to recover. Generally speaking, you have to publicize what you want to recover, so that people concerned can pay attention to the relevant transactions before you can find traces of cultural relics. However, it has happened for a long time, and as a result, neither the police nor the museum has released photos or even descriptions of the missing objects, perhaps because the police are still interrogating and investigating.

Some netizens suspect that it is not that the British Museum does not want to talk about it, but that they are really not clear about it. Because there are too many collections in the museum, but it seems to be managed in general.

Some people complain that the British Museum does not have a more comprehensive catalogue of millions of cultural relics, and that many cultural relics are not included in the online inventory, or are just arranged in a mess. This will make the investigation more difficult and the theft easier.

It is difficult to count what is lost when cultural relics are lost, and it is impossible for thieves to steal them after reading them.

At the same time, there is also a serious problem, that is, the investigation of the theft has been delayed for too long. Even if the thief is found, the lost property will probably be long gone.

Some people suspected that the British Museum was losing something many years ago. An antique expert saw an antique jewel on a second-hand website, and it became more and more familiar. It turned out to be no different from an artifact in the museum's online catalogue. It is suspected that someone stole the cultural relics, then scratched out Phnom Penh and sold the rest as scrap.

The artifact was put on the shelves in 2016, which may be when someone was selling the collection stolen from the museum.

The elder brother who discovered this reflected the situation to the British Museum in 2020, suspected to be the work of museum insiders, and the museum said it would investigate, but then there was no news, and three years passed in the blink of an eye.

What makes people feel even more helpless is that the thieves responsible for selling stolen goods may not understand the value of cultural relics.

Because the artifact, which is posted on a second-hand website, is only priced at 40 pounds, but in fact it may be worth as much as 50000 pounds, or more than 400,000 things are going to sell for less than 400.

It sounds funny, but in fact, if it is true, it will be a disaster for cultural relics.

This shows that the thief needs to make quick money, not resell cultural relics, then he will destroy cultural relics. For example, melting gold, re-cutting gems, other unknown parts will be disposed of as waste. As a result, many stolen cultural relics are sold for far less than their own value.

For example, in the famous theft case in 2005, the thief stole a sculpture worth 3 million pounds and weighed two tons, then melted it down. In the end, the police estimated that the thief sold it for less than 1500 pounds.

Speaking of which, although "Museum Theft" sounds like a movie plot, the British Museum has experienced several thefts.

For example, they lost a 2,500-year-old Greek statue in 2002 because the door was not locked. A ring worth 950000 pounds was lost before, discovered in 2017 and lost in 2011.

In a word, some netizens find it ironic while others feel heartache about the loss of things in the British Museum. After all, lost artifacts are more likely to be disposed of at a low price and disappear completely than the possibility that they will be returned to their places of origin. And the collection that is left in the corner may be a highly cherished treasure somewhere.

It's a pity to lose it like this.

Reference:

Https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Museum#cite_note-bbcknow-154

Https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2000/10/01/question-in-parliament-uncovers-extensive-losses-regarding-thefts-from-uk-national-museums

Https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Museum#cite_note-156

Https://www.standard.co.uk/hp/front/british-museum-struck-by-robbery-6326952.html

Https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2009/may/17/henry-moore-sculpture-theft-reclining-fihttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/04/british-museum-is-worlds-largest-receiver-of-stolen-goods-says-qcgure

Https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/what-was-stolen-theft-british-museum-london-b1101937.html

Https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-66543589

Https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/08/17/british-museum-theft-warned-ebay-gold-antiquities-police/

Https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/08/16/british-museum-stolen-artefacts-too-late-to-recover/

Https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/08/17/british-museum-stolen-artefacts-peter-higgs-curator/

Https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/08/17/stolen-british-museum-items-worth-50000-offered-ebay-40/

Https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/08/16/british-museum-worker-fired-gold-jewelry-stolen/

Https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/08/16/british-museum-stolen-artefacts-too-late-to-recover/

This article is from the official account of Wechat: mad Pill Research Institute (ID:kuangwanplay), author: mad Maru

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