Missing treasures from the British Museum were sold by its curator

The FBI's US investigative agency has targeted the sale of hundreds of treasures from the British Museum to American buyers. The British Museum reported last year that at least 1,500 gems, jewels and other items from its collections had disappeared, been stolen or damaged. The museum says a curator sold them and caused at least 3 million crowns worth of damage.

The British Museum says it has so far recovered 626 items out of the estimated 1,500 that were stolen or "disappeared." A further 100 recovered objects are still awaiting their return. Most of the objects the museum believes to be stolen have not been catalogued, and the museum is still trying to find ways to prove they belong in its collections. In some cases, these involve agreements with collectors who have agreed to hand them over to the museum for assessment.

Meanwhile, the museum has accused senior curator Peter Higgs of stealing, damaging and selling ancient artifacts. Higgs denies the charges. The museum claims Higgs stole objects worth a total of about £100,000 (about 3 million crowns). According to court documents in the civil case, the museum believes Higgs stole objects over a period of at least ten years, selling mostly unregistered artefacts from the museum's stores to a total of forty-five buyers via eBay.

Three buyers consistently stated that the seller, "sultan1966," posed as "Paul Higgins" or just "Paul" on eBay or via email. According to court documents, Higgs admitted that the "sultan1966" account belonged to him. One of the New Orleans buyers confirmed that an FBI agent contacted him by email, requesting information about two items he purchased on eBay with thoseto help the Metropolitan Police Department investigate missing or stolen items from the museum. He replied that he no longer had either of these items and did not believe they could ever be found. The BBC confirmed the transaction by checking eBay records and Birbiglia's receipts.

Birbiglia was reportedly "completely shocked" when the FBI contacted him. He says he has no memory of the gems and probably bought them to resell them. Another source close to the Washington buyer said he purchased from "sultan1966" through eBay and then communicated with the seller directly through his email. Also according to this source, the seller used the name "Paul Higgins".

The very first person to alert the museum to possible thefts was a Danish antiquities dealer, Dr. Ittai Gradel. He himself traced artifacts sold to buyers in several cities, including Hamburg, Cologne, Paris, and Hong Kong. Some of the gems he bought in good faith and then sold to other collectors ended up on display at the German Gem Museum in Idar-Oberstein. One of the artefacts, a rare 2nd century obsidian head of Hercules, even became the face of the official exhibition catalogue.

In 2017, Gradel paid £300 for the item, which was offered in a private conversation under a nickname used by Dr Higgs - Paul Higgins. In emails seen by the BBC, Dr Gradel was told by the seller that it belonged to his sibling, who inherited it from his grandmother: 'I think it's glass - a very nicely modelled head, about 3cm high. I don't know if you are interested in such things, but if you are, we are open to offers," the seller wrote at the time.

No one has been convicted or arrested yet. However, the case has revealed a vast network and thefts around the world, including Denmark, Germany, France and Hong Kong. The FBI continues to investigate the sale of stolen items from the British Museum to American buyers, and has also helped recover 268 items in the meantime.

Roman Nemec

Sources: bbc.com, ancient-origins.net. mirror.co.uk

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