https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpegg27g74do
The two clues that helped a Danish gem collector with a photographic memory crack open the case.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
In 2020, Danish antiquities dealer Dr Ittai Gradel began to suspect an eBay seller he had been buying from was a thief who was stealing from the British Museum.More than two years later, the museum would announce that thousands of objects were missing, stolen or damaged from its collection.
“The gems that fascinate me are nothing so boring as diamonds,” says Dr Gradel from his attic study, lined with display cabinets of treasures.He collects ancient gemstones carved with intricate figures or motifs - they help paint a picture of what life was like in the classical world and were often used as jewellery.It is a niche passion.
It would be worth double that, says the museum, if it still had its gold mount.Dr Gradel says it is “totally bizarre” that he could sit at a computer on a small Danish island and be the first person to discover something was awry at the British Museum.He wrote to sultan1966, the man he knew as Paul Higgins, asking why the Priapus cameo had been withdrawn.
“That would enable him to cover his tracks,” he said.Instead he decided to keep an eye on him - to see if any other pieces belonging to the museum appeared.Four years would pass before the next clue - when Dr Gradel would make the shocking discovery that it appeared to be an inside job.
All objects had been accounted for, he was told, and there was no suggestion of wrongdoing by staff.Dr Gradel says this was “bizarre to say the least - totally absurd”.He knew Mr Hay’s gem had gone missing, been bought online and was only in the collection after being handed back.
Some of those remaining had deep gouging and scratches, which looked like marks left by pliers.When the curator went on to look at the unregistered items contained in one particular storeroom, court documents claim she discovered that 1,161 items were missing - more than three-quarters of its entire contents.The curator handed over preliminary reports to her boss, Dr Higgs, in late December 2022 and the museum’s court documents claim Peter Higgs tried to delay escalating the findings several times.At first, he said it wouldn’t be good to announce the news before a weekend or Christmas, the documents claim - then, they continue, he said it was his birthday and he didn’t want to deal with the matter.But, according to the museum, the curator insisted and her findings quickly made their way to the top.The museum’s director at the time, Hartwig Fisher, shared the information with chairman George Osborne.Two months before, Dr Gradel had managed to reach Mr Osborne to tell him about his suspicions.
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The thumbnail image looks like half a pancake with the face of Jesus burnt into it.
If toasts with images of Jesus is worth a lot, this pancake must be priceless!