The director, Hartwig Fischer, has spoken out for the first time since the British Museum announced that valuable objects were stolen from its collection. His interview was published in the Guardian. The director confirmed that allegations of missing objects were brought to the museum in 2021. “We took them incredibly seriously and immediately set up an investigation,” he said. “Concerns were only raised about a small number of items, and our investigation concluded that those items were all accounted for.”
Fischer has become the target of increased public scrutiny since an art dealer claimed that he had warned the museum of the thefts two years ago, yet its leadership failed to act. However, Fischer said at every step, his priority has been the care of the incredible British Museum collection, and he added this still continues today.
“We now have reason to believe that the individual who raised concerns had many more items in his possession,” Fischer continued, likely referring to the Dutch antiquities dealer Ittai Gradel, who alerted the museum after spotting objects from its collection on eBay. “It’s frustrating that that was not revealed to us as it would have aided our investigations.”
“In 2022, we embarked on a full audit—which revealed a bigger problem,” Fischer said. “I reported my concerns to the trustees, and we agreed to call in the police. We also began the disciplinary process that resulted in a staff member being dismissed.”
Reports have identified the fired employee as senior curator Peter John Higgs, who had worked at the museum for three decades. His dismissal was announced last week. At the time, the institution said that multiple artifacts—including pieces of gold jewelry and gems of semi-precious stones and glass dating from the 15th century B.C.E. to the 19th century C.E.—were absent from its storerooms.
