British Museum asks public to help recover stolen gems and jewelry

The British Museum is seeking the public's help as it works to locate and recover thousands of missing artifacts believed to have been stolen from their collections. 

After announcing in August that roughly 2,000 items were unaccounted for and likely stolen from the museum, officials confirmed in a news release out Tuesday that 60 of those missing works had been returned. Another 300 items had been identified as belonging to the museum and were "due to be returned imminently," they said.

Museum officials unveiled a new webpage along with their latest update on the recovery effort. The page offers a more detailed view of what types of artifacts have been lost and what they look like, providing images of similar works still in the museum's possession. A vast majority of the missing items come from the British Museum's Department of Greece and Rome, and primarily consist of gems and jewelry, bearing likeness to the ones showcased in images on the new site. 

"Gems, cameos or intaglios are small objects, often set in rings or other settings, or left unmounted and unfinished. They may be made of semi-precious stone (for example sard, sardonyx, amethyst) or glass; they may be cast from a mould or engraved by hand," reads a message posted online.

"The majority of gems are from the Hellenistic and Roman world, but some may also have been made in modern times in imitation of ancient gems," it continues. "They may feature images of famous individuals from the Classical past, of mythological scenes, animals or objects. These gems are of varied quality."

The museum said it has registered all missing artifacts with the Art Loss Register, an online database, and has started to collaborate with an international panel of gem and jewelry specialists helping to identify items that were lost. It has also set up an email hotline where people can submit information that might help the recovery effort.

"We believe we have been the victim of thefts over a long period of time and frankly more could have been done to prevent them," George Osborne, chairman of the British Museum, told BBC Radio 4 in August. Osborne, who was appointed chair in 2021, noted in that interview that "[s]ome members of the antiquarian community are actively cooperating with us" and he believed "honest people" would return items that were suspected to be, or turned out to be, stolen. 

However, "others may not," he added, according to the BBC.

Shortly after announcing that artifacts had vanished, the British Museum fired a staff member on suspicion of stealing and damaging item, including gold, gems and glass dating back centuries, officials said in mid-August, noting at the time that the museum would be taking legal action against the former worker. An investigation also got underway by the Economic Crime Command branch of the Metropolitan Police.

"An independent review will be led by former trustee Sir Nigel Boardman, and Lucy D'Orsi, Chief Constable of the British Transport Police," the museum said in August. "They will look into the matter and provide recommendations regarding future security arrangements at the Museum. They will also kickstart – and support – a vigorous programme to recover the missing items."

The British Museum continues to work with Metropolitan Police as they attempt to recover the artifacts. Officials said last month that most of the missing items were small pieces previously held in a storeroom that belonged to one of the museum's collections, and were mainly kept for academic and research purposes rather than public display.

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