The Latest Breaking News from British Museum

Letters: A sad episode at the museum has been characterised by ill-informed comment, writes Andrew Oddy, while Elizabeth Lewis says George Osborne should be replaced as chair

A new exhibition shows how a textile transformation brought brightness to the masses, in an era where electric purples and absinthe greens reigned supreme

The video has sparked calls for the return of an actual jade teapot showcased in the British Museum, where former chancellor George Osborne sits as chair of the board of trustees

Since mid-August, the British Museum has been mired in a controversy over the theft of about 2,000 objects from its collections. The theft is suspected to be an inside job that took place over a period of twenty years. Alerted to the sale of alleged stolen items in 2021, the…

The Parthenon Sculptures, Rosetta Stone and Benin Bronzes are just some of the ‘contested objects’ in Bloomsbury institution’s collection, Joe Sommerlad reports

Former head of V&A has suggested Parthenon marbles could be shared with Greece

All the old arguments for hanging on to looted treasures like the Benin bronzes have crumbled

The scandal over alleged thefts is a terrible blow for a museum Conservatives have starved of funding and respect, says the Guardian’s chief culture writer Charlotte Higgins

Its next director is going to have to implement radical culture change if the institution is to remain fit for purpose in the 21st century

The British Museum houses a collection of about eight million historical and cultural artefacts from around the world.

Museums don’t win awards or get rave reviews for their security systems – but they should. I have seen for myself how lax British Museum security was. It needs to stop living in a fantasy world