Thousands of artifacts unaccounted for in English Museums' records

Records Show Thousands of Museum Pieces Unaccounted For in Two Decades

A report in The Guardian revealed that over 1,700 objects seem to have disappeared from English museum collections in the past 20 years. The missing artifacts only came to light after the PA news agency submitted Freedom of Information requests to various cultural institutions. This issue has been getting more attention in the UK since last summer, when it was announced 2,000 items in the British Museum's holdings were reported as stolen, lost or damaged. The chair of the British Museum, George Osborne, attributed this in part to incomplete documentation of the vast collection. The full scale of unaccounted-for objects raises questions about inventory practices at the nation's museums.

According to the Guardian report, the National Portrait Gallery in London has 45 objects listed as whereabouts unknown in their records. However, the Gallery maintains these items are not truly missing or stolen. Some of the "unlocated" pieces between 2007-2022 include a 1869 drawing of Queen Victoria, an engraving of King John signing the Magna Carta from the mid-1800s, a bronze sculpture of artist Thomas Stothard, and a negative from the 1947 wedding of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.

Following a three-year renovation period, the Gallery stated they need to search for these items recorded as unlocated. The 45 objects represent only 0.02% of the institution's total collection.

Records showed around 180 objects were unaccounted for at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, including oil and watercolor paintings, a shadow puppet, fake mustaches, drawings, undergarments, and a mousetrap. The museum noted it was uncertain if these items were lost or stolen. Meanwhile, the Tate art galleries and museums as well as the National Gallery reported having full inventories with no missing pieces.

However, the Royal Museums Greenwich could not find 245 artifacts across its various southeast London locations. Among the unlocated objects were a navigational aircraft computer, a gun-sighting telescope, a cannonball, charts, liquid compasses, an Act of Parliament, an Altazimuth circle, and hat ribbons and bands. The wide range of seemingly mundane and significant historical items reported as missing at this complex raises questions about their inventory and record-keeping practices.

The Victoria and Albert Museum attributed some discrepancies to incorrect data transfer from old systems and human errors when cataloging artifacts. Through auditing since 2008, they were able to rediscover over 560 previously "missing" objects. Meanwhile, records at the Natural History Museum showed a late Triassic jaw fragment went missing on loan in 2019, along with more than 180 fish in 2020 and a crocodile tooth.

The Science Museum Group, which now barcodes items, filed a police report in 2014 regarding two model steam trains - a King George V and a British Railways engine. 

They also listed a 1960s deep-sea chamber model, diver's torch, resuscitating apparatus, and 19th century portrait as unaccounted for. Seven artifacts were also recorded as disappeared from the Horniman Museum and Gardens in London. Small numbers of missing items were additionally flagged at the Wallace Collection, Museum of the Home, Sir John Soane’s Museum, and National Museums Liverpool. More than 550 artifacts were reported absent from the collections of the Imperial War Museum, including ship camouflage drawings, papers from a British army officer, a calendar featuring a photo of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, and currency notes.

The assortment of scattered missing objects, ranging from a few to hundreds per institution, highlights the diversity of collections impacted and the persistent challenge of full accountability for artifacts held in public trust.