Bristol City Council confirmed that the stolen collection spans medals, badges, pins, jewellery, carved ivory, silverware, bronze figures and geological samples. Philip Walker, the council's head of culture and creative industries, said the objects reflect more than two centuries of Britain's connections with countries incorporated into its empire. The collection is of cultural significance to many countries and provides an invaluable record and insight into the lives of those involved in and affected by the British Empire, Walker said.
More than 600 artefacts were stolen from a museum in Bristol, UK, earlier this year in a major robbery, police announced earlier today. The items taken are part of the collection of the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum, which is managed by Bristol Archives and Bristol Museums. According to Avon and Somerset Police, the "high-value" items were removed from the museum's offsite storage facility in Cumberland Road on 25 September between 1am and 2am. The police are seeking four unknown males caught on surveillance cameras.
Two men have been arrested on suspicion of burglary after Bronze Age gold jewellery was stolen from St Fagans National Museum of History in Cardiff. The men aged 43 and 50 from Northampton were arrested 7 October and are in custody in Northamptonshire. The unspecified objects were on display in the Wales is... gallery. The theft took place 6 October.
