Museums regain accrediation following sale of artefact

Two museums in Northampton have regained full accreditation from Arts Council England, eight years after the controversial sale of an ancient Egyptian statue for nearly £16m.

The Northampton Chronicle reports that following the sale of the 4,000-year-old Sekhemka statue in 2014, which saw the current Lord Northampton Spencer Compton receive around £6 million and the Northampton Borough Council receive the rest, Northampton Museum and Art Gallery's accreditation was stripped on ethical grounds.

The sale was widely condemned in the art world and the council was removed from the Museums Association, making them ineligible to apply for funding.

Abington Park Museum also had its accreditation stripped as it was under the ownership of the council. But both museums have now regained it.

Nick Gordon, Cultural Services Manager at West Northamptonshire Council, said:  “The Council is really pleased and it has been a lot of work to get to this point. The loss has really had an impact and we hope to move things on and leave the past behind us now.

“We are under completely different administration now and we have learnt from what was done through the consequences. We want to put this to bed and face the future, but not forget.”