While details surrounding a spate of thefts at the British Museum continue to emerge, Greek authorities are using the scandal to play politics for the return of the Parthenon marbles.
The security questions raised by the missing objects “reinforce our country's permanent and fair demand for the definitive return” of the Marbles, said Greek Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, in a recent interview with the newspaper To Vima.
The museum, which has owned the marbles since they were removed from Athens' Acropolis in the early 19th century by British nobleman Lord Elgin, has repeatedly denied Greece's requests for the relics to be repatriated. But the Greeks' campaign has gained momentum in recent years amid international calls for cultural institutions to decolonize their holdings.
“The loss, theft, the deterioration of objects from a museum collection is a very serious and particularly sad event,” continued Mendoni. “In fact, when this happens from within, beyond any moral and criminal responsibility, a big question arises regarding the credibility of the museum organization itself.”
He further explained that the “Ministry of Culture is following the development of the matter very closely”.
Last Wednesday, August 16, the British Museum announced that it had fired an employee after discovering that valuable items in its collection - including pieces of gold jewelry and semi-precious stone gems and glass dating from the 15th century BC to the 19th century AD — were missing. The institution said it intended to take “legal action” against the then unidentified employee and that the Metropolitan Police were investigating the situation.
Days later, news revealed that Peter John Higgs, senior curator of Greek and Roman art who worked at the museum for 30 years, was the fired employee. Higgs is suspected of stealing the objects for years.
Many were put up for sale on eBay, often for prices that reflected only a fraction of their true value.
Notably, news of the missing objects comes just weeks after the museum's director, Hartwig Fischer, said he will step down next year. Officials at the institution speculated that the surprise announcement was related to the robberies. Others called for Fischer's immediate resignation.
“Hartwig has been a very respected director,” George Osborne, president of the British Museum, told the BBC. “I was very clear – as was Hartwig – that his decision was not linked to our announcement last week.”
Source: Artnet News