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Search resuls for: "Ittai Gradel"


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ITTAI GRADEL, an academic–turned–gem dealer in Denmark, was trawling eBay a decade ago when he thought he had stumbled across a gold mine. On his screen, Gradel saw a seller called Sultan1966 advertising a glass gem from the 19th century. Gradel immediately recognized it as something much more valuable: an agate Roman Medusa cameo from the second century, featuring the mythical Gorgon with snakes as hair. He snapped it up for £15 plus postage, then turned around and sold it to a collector for a couple of thousand pounds.
Persons: ITTAI GRADEL, , Gradel Organizations: eBay Locations: Denmark
British Museum director quits over stolen treasures
  + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Andrew Macaskill | ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
[1/2] A sign for the British Museum which houses the Parthenon sculptures is seen in London, Britain, January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - The director of the British Museum said on Friday he would step down after admitting to failings in its investigation into the theft of items from its collection. "It is evident that the British Museum did not respond as comprehensively as it should have," he said in a statement. Fischer said that he withdrew remarks made about the art dealer who first alerted museum bosses to the stolen items. Earlier this week, Fischer said Ittai Gradel, an antiquities dealer, withheld information about the scale of the stolen items when he contacted the museum.
Persons: Toby Melville, Hartwig Fischer, Fischer, Ittai Gradel, George Osborne, Osborne, Andrew MacAskill, Sachin Ravikumar, Angus MacSwan, Andrew Heavens Organizations: British, REUTERS, British Museum, Police, Thomson Locations: London, Britain
In 2021, British Museum officials were alerted to a potential thief in their ranks. That year, Ittai Gradel, a Denmark-based dealer in ancient gems, contacted the august London institution with evidence that he said showed that three gems from the museum’s collections had been offered for sale on eBay. Museum officials were already aware that something was up with one of those artifacts. Another dealer, Malcolm Hay, had gotten in touch to say he had bought one of the gems but was concerned it was stolen. The thief must have been someone inside the institution, Mr. Gradel said in an email to the British Museum that has been obtained by The New York Times.
Persons: Ittai, Malcolm Hay, Gradel, untoward Organizations: British, eBay ., British Museum, The New York Times, The Times Locations: Denmark, London
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