Hartwig Fischer, director of the British Museum, has resigned after the disappearance of at least 1,200 objects from the museum’s collections (including gold and precious jewels dating back to periods from the 15th century BC up to the 19th century). The identity of the thief (or thieves) has not yet been established, but for now the main suspect is Peter Higgs, a curator and renowned expert on ancient Greek art, a longtime collaborator of the museum, removed from his position in February last. Higgs, also through the voice of his family members, says he is innocent.
Fischer hid the crimes for a long time: he knew it would be a scandal, for an institution considered untouchable and infallible like the British. Apparently, he had been aware of the thefts since 2021. He thought for a long time that he could stem the losses, until he realized that he had no other way than to warn Scotland Yard, the London police.
Fisher is German, was born in Hamburg, and arrived at the top of the British Museum in 2015, after having directed the museums of Essen and Dresden: the second non-English citizen to receive the job (the first was an Italian, Antonio Panizzi , Italian Risorgimento patriot). The museum, founded in 1753 by Sir Hans Sloane, a physician and scientist, has 6 million visitors a year.