The most cutting-edge collections also have their followers. Twelve penknives and decorative objects dating from the 18th to the 20th century were stolen on the morning of May 14 from the collections of the small Kelham Island museum in Sheffield, central England. The offense caused a great stir among the public of the establishment. With the exception of a pair of coffee pots from the reign of George III (1760-1820), the various objects stolen were made of metal, a symbolically significant material in Sheeffied, the British cradle of the Industrial Revolution.
The list of missing objects gives the impression of an astonishing bric-a-brac. There are a few contemporary steel statuettes, a chick and a heron all in forks and spoons made by “scrap artist” Jason Heppenstall. And then there are Swiss Army knives. One of the most recent, assembled by Sheffield master knifemaker Stan Shaw (1926-2021), dates from 1987; the oldest is an astonishing ceremonial knife from 1800, equipped with 104 blades.
“This burglary took away important and irreplaceable property linked to the city’s heritage,” said Keith Crawshaw, president of the Ken Hawley collection, owner of some of the stolen objects, in a statement. “Their disappearance robs us all of the opportunity to appreciate and value the craftsmanship of ordinary workers,” he added. Kim Streets, director of the Sheffied Museums, said the operation appears to have been carefully prepared. South Yorkshire Police have been assigned to the case.
The Kelham Island museum robbery comes weeks after other burglaries in Sheffield and the region. In January, the Sheffield Assay Office – the local authority responsible for hallmarking and authenticating precious metals – was thus stolen several objects with a total value of around 115,000 euros. In April, the Clifton Park Museum in Rotherham, in the northern suburbs of Sheffield, was also the subject of the theft of a pair of silver tableware dated 1781.
According to The Art Newspaper, the police have not yet established a link between these different cases. The management of the Sheffield museums has nevertheless indicated that it is reviewing the state of security of the six establishments under its control. South Yorkshire Police have called on the public to remain vigilant for stolen items which authorities say could “undoubtedly” re-emerge in the art and second-hand market circuit. The stolen set was on display in a showcase of a temporary exhibition at the Kelham Island Museum, dedicated to the city’s cutlery. Sheffield is known to have been at the forefront of England’s Industrial Revolution, from the 18th century, thanks to the region’s steel industry, fueled by nearby iron and coal mines.
