London, steals an ancient coin at the British Museum: it's performance art

He steals anancient coin from 1645, kept at the British Museum in London, and replaces it with a reproduction. However, this is not yet another act of an antiquities thief, or a continuation of the well-known affair of thefts at the London museum: the theft this time was an... performance art. The perpetrator is a Brazilian artist, Ilê Sartuzi, who a few days ago entered Room 68 of the British and managed to remove the 1645 English coin, minted at the time of the Civil War, from a display case and replace it with a worthless reproduction. Eventually, the artist placed the stolen coin in the box reserved for visitor donations.

In order to succeed in the feat (the performance is titled Sleight of hand, “sleight of hand”), Ilê Sartuzi let it be known that she prepared the plan for a year, leaving nothing to chance: she studied the museum’s floor plan, visitor flows, even sought legal advice. The artist bases her defense on a 1968 British law, the Theft Act, which states that “any person who without lawful authorization removes from the building or its grounds the whole or any part of an article exhibited” is guilty of a felony, and on the British’s own rules requiring visitors to “not touch any object in the collection on public display, including sculpture or stonework, except as part of our organized events, which include tactile tours and object handling desks.” the coin was in fact displayed in a counter reserved for handling, and was not taken out of the building, consequently Sartuzi and his lawyer are convinced that they did not violate any laws, or even museum policy.

Moreover, the performance is part of a dissertation by the artist, who is studying at the University of London. Sartuzi, who with Sleight of hand also wanted to expose the colonial and imperialist background of the museum’s history, in fact documented the whole thing and his action was exhibited for a few days in the college where he studies. The museum, however, disagrees: “This is a disappointing and derivative action, abusing a volunteer-led service aimed at giving visitors the opportunity to handle real objects and connect with history. Services like this rest on a basic level of decency and trust, and it would be a shame to have to review the provision of these services because of actions like this.”

London, steals an ancient coin at the British Museum: it's performance art

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