Source: CCTV News Client
"On behalf of the British Museum, I apologize for what happened", on August 26, local time, George Osborne, chairman of the board of the British Museum and former Chancellor of the Exchequer, confirmed to the British media that a large number of collections of the British Museum were lost. However, due to the lack of a complete collection classification record, exact figures can only be relied upon. "We think it's probably around 2,000," says Osborne.
Although he stressed that some of the lost collections had been recovered, the uproar caused by what UNESCO experts called "the worst theft in modern history" has not been subsided.
Is it too late?
The turmoil began on August 16, when the British Museum announced on its official website that it fired a staff member and called the police after discovering that part of the collection was "missing, stolen or damaged". The lost collection includes gold jewelry and glassware from the 15th to 19th centuries BC, which are mainly used for academic and research purposes and are not on public display.
According to the Guardian, the dismissed employee is a senior curator at the British Museum, where he has worked for 30 years. His son said in an interview that his father "did nothing" and had "lost all confidence in the museum."
△Screenshot of the announcement on the official website of the British Museum
On August 25, the director of the British Museum, Hartwig Fischer, announced his resignation, taking responsibility for the museum's previous failure to adequately investigate the loss of its collection. Fischer said in a statement that the British Museum did not respond fully after receiving the warning in 2021 and that "the responsibility for that failure must ultimately be borne by the director".
△ Yibei website sells items, believed to be one of the lost collections of the British Museum (Image source: Telegraph website)
"We believe that [the British Museum] has been the victim of theft for a long time", Osborne confessed to the media, "we could have done more".
Founded in 1753 and officially opened in 1759, the British Museum is one of the most visited museums in the world. The suspected theft of such a prestigious cultural institution has also raised questions about the British Museum and the entire industry.
On September 1, local time, the Guardian published a commentary entitled "Politicians, not curators, are to blame for the British Museum's woes", saying that the museum may be institutionally riddled with theft: if most of its collection was wrongly acquired under colonial conditions, will anyone be surprised that its modern administrators prove to be thieves?
Oaker Aguru, a professor of art and archaeology at Princeton University in the United States, said in a recent interview with China Central Radio and Television Station that as an expert in related fields, he could not judge whether this was a special case.
Oak Aguru, professor of art and archaeology at Princeton University: We don't actually know if this is a special case, and we can't be sure if this has happened in other museums around the world. But what we are sure of is that one of the world's most famous museum institutions has indeed lost its collections for many years.
The loss of collections ripped off the "fig leaf" Many countries called for the return of collections
Since most of the 8 million items in the British Museum's collection come from other countries or regions, the loss scandal not only revealed the security and management loopholes of the museum, but also triggered discussions on the return of cultural relics in many countries.
Greek Minister of Culture and Sports, Lena Menzoni, said in a recent interview with the Greek newspaper Tribune that the safety of the collection reinforces the country's long-standing and legitimate demand for the eventual return of Parthenon stone carvings; Nigerian officials have also publicly demanded that the British Museum return looted Beninese bronzes; Ethiopia wants the British Museum to return weapons, jewelry, etc. seized by the British from Makdara in the north of the country in 1868 during military operations; Ghana's Asenters have also pressured the British Museum to return its gold items.
Til Ville-Hodge, a lawyer specializing in British art ownership, said in an interview with China Central Radio and Television that many Western institutions, including the British Museum, often claim that their collections are "safer" in Western museums than in their home areas, and the turmoil has undoubtedly "slapped the face".
Til Weil-Hodge, a specialist lawyer for British art attribution: This undoubtedly weakens the argument that certain Western institutions, known as "international museums", can safely and reliably preserve collections in the name of all humanity. This view can now be refuted by the loss of collections.
It is worth mentioning that according to the BBC, there have been six known thefts of the British Museum in the past 30 years:
In 1993, Roman coins from the museum's collection were stolen; In 1997, several Persian books were stolen; In 2002, a 2,500-year-old Greek statue was stolen; In 2004, more than a dozen Chinese copper mirrors, armor and gemstones were stolen; In 2017, a £750,000 Cartier ring diamond was revealed to have been stolen in 2011; In August 2023, gold and jewelry artifacts from the British Museum's storehouse were stolen...
Chinese collections: If you ask the return date is not due
The British Museum currently has the largest collection of Chinese antiquities in the West, with a total of 23,000 objects, covering a variety of bronzes, porcelain, jadeite, calligraphy and paintings from the Neolithic period to the present day dating back 10,000 years. Notable exhibits include a copy of the Tang Dynasty copy of the Nu Shi Zhentu.
△ Part of "Female History Monitor" (Image source: British Museum official website)
According to the official website of the British Museum, in 1903 the British Museum purchased the "Picture of the Female History" from Captain Clarence Johnson. Johnson was sent to China in 1900 to participate in the Eight-Power Alliance. He arrived in Beijing in August 1900 and stayed for two months, where his corps was stationed at the Summer Palace. According to Johnson's family, the Lady Chart was a gift from a noble lady he had helped him. The British Museum said the claim could not be verified.
Til Ville-Hodge has represented dozens of art recovery cases. He believes that the return of Chinese cultural relics is not impossible. However, due to the complexity of the history and the huge number of objects, it takes countless time and effort to find a way home for each artifact.
Til Ville-Hodge, a specialist lawyer for British art attribution: Unfortunately, recourse has to be done on a case-by-case basis, focusing on only one object at a time. Of course, there are also groups of items, which can be referred to and traced together. But in general, historical facts can be quite confusing and complex, and studying the source flow of each object is quite time-consuming. Of course, I believe some items are recourse viable.
I hope that the most beautiful reunion of cultural relics returning to their original place can take place in every corner of the world that has experienced the loss of cultural relics.