With 2,000 missing objects, the British Museum faces historic crisis of custodianship, but this case is far from unique

Since mid-August, the British Museum has been mired in a controversy over the theft of about 2,000 objects from its collections. The theft is suspected to be an inside job that took place over a period of 20 years. Alerted to the sale of alleged stolen items in 2021, the museum did not take action until earlier this year.