“The situation in which the museum finds itself is extremely serious,” Hartwig Fisher, director of the British Museum, said on Friday. In a press release, the leader, under pressure since the disappearance of pieces from the collections, announced his immediate resignation. “I sincerely believe that the museum will overcome this episode and come out of it stronger, but unfortunately I have come to the conclusion that my presence is a source of confusion,” he added.
The case has become particularly embarrassing for one of the most prestigious cultural institutions in the world. Already two days ago, Hartwig Fisher had confirmed in the columns of the English newspaper The Guardian, that several missing works of art had been reported as early as 2021, and expressed for the first time his “frustration” that these warnings were not did not make it possible to reveal the extent of the thefts, disappearances or deterioration of works. “We took these revelations extremely seriously and immediately launched an investigation,” he said.
“The fears were only focused on a small limited number of objects, and the investigation determined that they had all been accounted for,” added the director. Born in 1962, Hartwig Fischer had already announced his intention to step down next year. But the pressure on this German art historian – the first non-British to head the British Museum – has been mounting since the announcement on August 16 of the disappearance of a series of pieces from the collections, some dating back to the 15th century. century BC
“Over the past few days, I have gone over in detail the thefts committed at the British Museum and their investigation. It is obvious that the British Museum did not react as it should have to the warnings of 2021 and the problem now fully visible. His resignation has been accepted, said George Osborne, adding that an interim director would be put in place pending the selection of a new boss for the institution, which is one of the most visited attractions in the United Kingdom.
The announcement of a series of thefts, small unexposed pieces kept among the millions of pieces in the reserves, constituted a deflagration for the museum. These include gold jewelry, semi-precious stones or glassware dating from the 15th century BC to the 19th century AD.
The institution had indicated in mid-August that it had fired an employee, seized the police and launched an independent investigation in order to shed light on these thefts and learn from them. Since then, the revelations have multiplied in dribs and drabs in the press, which evokes hundreds of objects that have disappeared over several years, some ending up on sale on eBay for modest sums. The press has also identified the employee as Peter Higgs, a well-known curator in art circles.