British Museum struck by robbery

A 2,500-year-old Greek artefact worth about £50,000 has been stolen from a British Museum gallery that had been left accessible and unattended.

The museum's Greek Archaic Gallery was "closed" for three hours on Tuesday evening, when the theft of the 12cm-high marble head took place. The cash-strapped museum - whose government funding has declined by about 30 per cent in real terms over the last decade - was recently forced to close a number of galleries during the day because there weren't enough staff to attend them.

The Archaic Gallery has no lockable door and was closed off only by an easily negotiable temporary barrier, a museum spokeswoman admitted today. The stolen head is small enough to have been slipped into the thief's pocket. The theft was discovered during a routine check on Tuesday evening.

New museum director Neil Mac-Gregor, who only took up his post today, said he would launch a review of security. "Sadly all museums are vulnerable to theft and small-scale sculptures are always particularly at risk," he said. "We hope the head will soon be recovered."

Police are investigating and Interpol and the Art Loss Register have been informed.

James Ede, managing director of London antiquities dealers Charles Ede Ltd, said the stolen head, which is heavily damaged and is thought to have been acquired in the Twenties, might be worth about £50,000.

But sources at the museum today attempted to play down its value. It was placed next to far more significant - and valuable - objects, none of which is missing.

Mr Ede said: "Its value is not the real issue here. This comes down to the Government not giving these people enough money, the poor sods. The fact Government funding for the country's most important national collection has decreased sends me spinning with rage."

He added that the thief would have extreme difficulty selling the head on the open market: "Thanks to that damage it is extremely recognisable. It will either go to a private collection or the thief will keep it in his or her bedroom."

A British Museum spokeswoman said today: "We can't know exactly when the theft occurred but the gallery was closed for some of the day. It is not always possible to close the doors but a barrier would have been in place." No security guards would have been on duty in the gallery. However, the spokeswoman said: "There would have been guards in the galleries on either side."

Mr MacGregor, who today succeeded Dr Robert Anderson as director, must oversee up to 150 redundancies, part of cost-cutting that has forced the museum to close 23 galleries for a few hours due to lack of staff. Last month the museum was closed as staff went on strike in protest at cuts, which management blames on the reduction in funding. Both security staff and conservators are expected to be badly hit by the job cuts.

Arts Minister Baroness Blackstone - who has refused to provide further funding for the museum - today announced Britain had signed a Unesco convention to tackle the trade in stolen antiquities. She said: "The UK is serious about the international effort to stamp out illicit trade in cultural objects." In 1999 Interpol dealt with 132 antiquity thefts in Britain.

Sources have hinted the baroness may relent on funding next month in the face of growing concern.

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