Express View on theft at the British Museum: Stolen goods

It’s been an embarrassing week for the British Museum which has long defended its collection against demands for repatriation by claiming it does a better job of looking after its objects. With an estimated 2,000 objects missing from its vaults — some of which turned up on eBay — the Museum’s predicament has invited barbs from countries that point out that many of its antiquities, such as the Parthenon Marbles that were taken to Britain in the 19th century, are imperial loot. “It is very obvious that [Greek heritage] is very well-protected in Greece and not in the British Museum,” said Despina Koutsoumba, head of the Association of Greek Archaeologists in a BBC Radio 4 interview.

The thefts — believed to have occurred over a period of years — may have rendered the Museum’s position indefensible. True, most of the missing objects, including some Greek and Roman coins and jewellery, are nowhere close in value to, say, the Parthenon Marbles or the Rosetta Stone. And the loss of 2,000 objects out of a collection of 8 million may not seem like a big deal. But the debacle raises longstanding concerns about the continuing viability of so-called encyclopaedic museums: Could they be made more responsive to the present moment? Could their collections be more diverse or taken out from their vitrines and given more authentic contexts?

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A big problem is the unwieldiness of vast collections: The British Museum, for example, only puts 1 per cent of its objects on display and several of the missing pieces were reportedly not even catalogued. One promising solution is the practice of progressive deaccessioning, whereby museums sell off a few high-value objects and use the proceeds to acquire artwork by underrepresented artists. For encyclopaedic museums that have long dodged calls to return looted antiquities, perhaps just being open to that conversation for a start might better serve their stated aims and objects.