Priceless British Museum artefacts which were stolen by a now sacked member of staff may already be long gone, an expert has claimed.
This week, the museum revealed that artefacts, ranging from gold jewellery, semi-precious stones and glass spanning nearly dating from the 15th century BC to the 19th century AD. Some pieces were said to be nearly 3,500-years -old.
Museum chiefs said the items had not been on public display and were kept primarily for academic and research purposes.
A police investigation has since been launched but Christopher Marinello, a lawyer and founder of Art Recovery International, who has worked for 30 years tracing stolen antiquities warned the items may already be lost.
He told the Daily Telegraph: “That is the great shame of these criminals, they don’t think of this priceless quality. They think of quick cash.
“They will tend to melt down gold as quickly as possible, and have the gems recut. Look at the Henry Moore statue that was melted down for the value of the raw metal.
“There is no thought of art – criminals are unsophisticated in this sense. That is the great tragedy of these incidents.”
An independent review, carried out by Sir Nigel Boardman, a former museum trustee, and Lucy D’Orsi, chief constable of the British Transport Police, has now been set up to establish how the artefacts were stolen.
The man behind the theft has not been arrested but the museum has said it will pursue legal action against him.
George Osborne, Chair of the British Museum, said: “The Trustees of the British Museum were extremely concerned when we learnt earlier this year that items of the collection had been stolen.
“The Trustees have taken decisive action to deal with the situation, working with the team at the Museum.
“We called in the police, imposed emergency measures to increase security, set up an independent review into what happened and lessons to learn, and used all the disciplinary powers available to us to deal with the individual we believe to be responsible.
“Our priority is now threefold: first, to recover the stolen items; second, to find out what, if anything, could have been done to stop this; and third, to do whatever it takes, with investment in security and collection records, to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
“This incident only reinforces the case for the reimagination of the Museum we have embarked upon. It’s a sad day for all who love our British Museum, but we’re determined to right the wrongs and use the experience to build a stronger Museum.”
The British Museum declined to comment further when asked while Scotland Yard said enquiries continue.
