A conceptual artist from Brazil swapped a historic British coin for a fake one at the British Museum to draw attention to the large number of foreign objects in its collection. Ile Sartuzi got the idea when he saw a museum volunteer giving visitors coins to handle. He requested an English Civil War-era silver coin, as it was one of the few British items in the museum, and then replaced it with the fake coin while creating a diversion.
Sartuzi later stated to Reuters that he put the original coin in the museum’s collection box on his way out. The Art Newspaper first reported his act, which he discussed in a video made for his master’s degree at Goldsmiths, University of London. The British Museum said it would inform the police about the incident, which occurred in June. A museum spokesperson, when asked for comment, described the act as “disappointing and derivative,” and mentioned that it took advantage of a volunteer-led service intended to allow visitors to handle real items and engage with history.
Sartuzi argued that institutions like the British Museum and the Louvre in France see themselves as custodians of the world’s treasures, but he criticized them for being the foundation of imperialist cultures that looted many of these objects from the global south and other parts of the world. The British Museum has faced scrutiny over the acquisition of some of its artifacts, with requests from several countries for the return of items. Examples include the Parthenon Sculptures and Nigeria’s bronzes, which were looted by British troops in 1897. The museum did not respond to Sartuzi’s allegations.
Sartuzi, who has exhibited in Brazil, Portugal, and London, revealed that he sought advice from an art lawyer before swapping the coin. The museum had previously dismissed an employee and launched a security review after discovering that hundreds of items had been stolen from its collection or were missing.