The British Museum says it has found a further 268 missing or stolen objects, bringing its total number of recovered artefacts to 626.
Additionally, the museum says it is working on new leads for around 100 objects. Its recovery operation is global, with items now found across Europe and North America.
Chair of the British Museum, George Osborne, said in a statement: “Few expected to see this day, and even I had my doubts.
“When we announced the devastating news that objects had been stolen from our collection, people understandably assumed that was it – we were unlikely to ever see more than a handful of them again. That’s usually the history with thefts like this.”
Osborne said the British Museum’s team “refused to give up”. He added: “Through clever detective work and a network of well-wishers we’ve achieved a remarkable result: more than 600 of the objects are back with us, and a further 100 have been identified – in total almost half the stolen items that we could recover.
“It’s a great result but we’re not resting here – the hunt goes on for the remaining missing objects. I urge anyone with any information to follow the example of all who’ve helped us and get in touch.”
The British Museum estimates that there are around 2,000 damaged or missing items in total, 1,500 of which are missing or stolen. The remaining 500 are damaged but housed within the museum.
“We’ve achieved a remarkable result”
In March, the British Museum launched legal proceedings against a former curator who allegedly stole and damaged the items.
Prior to that, the museum put 10 items stolen from its collection and later recovered on view in a show named Rediscovering Gems.
In more news, the institution has launched an international competition to find an architectural team to transform more than a third of its gallery space.
Images courtesy of the British Museum
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