As a series of thefts at the British Museum shows
British Museum. Ignore the Rosetta Stone; don’t turn left for the Elgin Marbles; don’t be seduced by the sumptuous naked statue of Venus. Instead, head up the stairs to Room 69. Here, it is quieter. There is the usual old stuff: Greek pots; some rude Roman decorations; and a pair of wooden double doors whose brass buzzer announces, expansively, that they lead to “.” Press it, and no one answers. They are not likely to.
This is less about pottery than principles. To lose one antiquity may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose several looks like you are a museum that cannot do its job properly. The museum has built its reputation—and defended its collection—by arguing that it looks after things well. This would imply that it can’t. Paul Cartledge, emeritus professor of Greek culture at Cambridge University, thinks that is overstating it: the theft of some jewels does not mean the Parthenon Marbles are unsafe.
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