VMs: DEE'S CRYSTAL BALL STOLEN

Fri 10 Dec 2004

3:24pm (UK)
Daylight Raid on Science Museum Gallery

By David Stringer, PA

A rare 16th Century clairvoyance crystal and valuable documents were
snatched in a daylight raid on a gallery at the Science Museum, it
was
confirmed today.

The irreplaceable artefacts were taken at around 4.30pm yesterday,
when
thieves smashed a glass cabinet in an exhibition space on the fifth
floor of the building in in South Kensington, London.

Museum staff have launched an internal inquiry, but do not yet know
if
the raiders were specifically targeting the items, estimated to be
worth around Â£50,000.

The crystal, used as a tool by mediums and for curing disease,
belonged
to maverick philosopher, mathematician and astrologer John Dee, a
consultant to Elizabeth I.

He lived between 1527 and the turn of the 17th Century, becoming a
leading authority on â??angel-magicâ?? and beliefs that man had the
potential for divine power.

Also taken was a statement about the crystalâ??s use by author and
pharmacist Nicholas Culpeper, written on the reverse of ancient deed
manuscripts in the mid-1600s.

A Science Museum spokeswoman said: â??At approximately 4.30pm on
Thursday, thieves broke into a cabinet at the Science Museum and
stole
two items from the museumâ??s collection belonging to the Wellcome
Trust.

â??The artefacts were transferred to the museum by as part of the
permanent loan of the Wellcome Medical Collection in 1976.

â??The items are unique and as such difficult to value but they
could be
worth as much as Â£50,000.â??

It is thought there were two raiders, who waited until the gallery
was
empty before snatching the items.

â??A member of staff was alerted by the sound of breaking glass and
immediately
informed our security workers, who re! ported the incident to the
police,â??
said
the spokeswoman.

Staff are reviewing security procedures and CCTV footage as part of
an
internal inquiry into the incident.

CID officers from Scotland Yard have also visited the scene and
launched
an investigation.

Jon Tucker, head of Science Museum, said: â??This is a very
distressing
loss to the museum as these objects are of great historical
significance and irreplaceable.â??
â??It is incredibly difficult striking the right balance between
providing good public access to our unique collections for our
millions
of visitors, whilst providing enough protection against a tiny number
of determined criminals.â??

Latest News:

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm

Jean