I probably visit too many museums. Even worse, in nearly every exhibition I attend I find some misinformation and am compelled to try to contact the curator to correct it.

I have been engaged in this endeavour even longer than I have been a recognised scientific sleuth, who detects and reports on violations of research integrity in publications. The odds of making any positive difference are roughly comparable. Sometimes I am successful, but not often.

The parallels between the attitude of museums and that of scientific journals and institutions has been particularly brought home to me by the British Museum’s recently revealed reaction to the apparent theft of thousands of its artefacts.

I say its artefacts, even though I recognise that the museum is itself accused of being a repository for stolen cultural property. I’ve remained a member of the museum despite these controversies – which is why I have followed the theft story so closely.

You may know the headline, but I’ve been surprised by how few people are aware of the shocking details. In brief, a collector and dealer named Ittai Gradel bought some glass and stone gems on eBay and was curious about their provenance. He contacted the museum’s curators with questions based on his informed guesses more than a decade ago but did not receive a response.

Want to write for THE? Click for more information

Gradel subsequently learned that one of the gems appeared to have been part of the museum’s Townley collection. Then, in...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMitAFBVV95cUxObS1ScnRkT2lDM0RjcXJRRmJT...