While the British Museum’s apparent handling of its missing objects scandal makes for sorry reading (Report, 25 August), the priority must now be the safe recovery of the missing items.
As a member of the antiquities trade, Ittai Gradel has done what he can on this front, and it is the similar expertise of other dealers and auction house specialists that can help further. To that end, it is imperative that the British Museum publishes a complete list of what is missing prominently on its website, together with clear photographs, without delay.
No area of the art market wants to hear that hundreds of stolen items may now be in circulation, especially if the circumstances mean that unwitting members of the public may have bought some of them via eBay.
Antiquities is the most scrutinised area of the market when it comes to compliance and due diligence. No other part of the trade has more of an interest in ensuring that the market is clean because no other part of the trade risks the same level of sanctions if it fails to do so. History shows us that one bad apple really can ruin it for everyone else. Consequently, members of the antiquities trade are highly alert to red flags of this nature.
What this episode has shown – and usually remains unacknowledged – is that it is often the trade that raises the alarm and tips off the authorities because its expertise means that it is often the first to spot a problem.
Ivan Macquisten
Adviser, Antiquities Dealers’ Association
