In 1816 a parliamentary committee was appointed to investigate the acquisition of several Acropolis sculptures by Lord Elgin, then British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. He tried, he said, to prevent the statues from being defaced and destroyed by moving them to a safe location and claimed to have done so with the permission of the authorities, the Times reports.
The commission in question, which cleared Elgin of all charges, was careful to emphasize the artistic value of the sculptures. These were, the committee concluded, among “the most excellent monuments of antiquity”. It is the status of statues as art objects, not arid disputes over the legal status of a 200-year-old letter of permission from the sultan of the Ottoman Empire, that should guide their care and preservation today.
Other relics from the Acropolis are now on display at the Acropolis Museum, a purpose-built institution, and it is obviously useful to display all these objects together, pointed out in the Times article. Therefore, the interests of art lovers would be best served with a loan of marbles in Greece. They could then be exhibited in Athens without raising technical arguments about ownership, which would serve no purpose other than to line the lawyers’ pockets.
“Changing the tone”
In response to a parliamentary question, Chris Bryant, the Culture Secretary, said the loan of the marbles was “a matter for the trustees” of the British Museum and noted that George Osborne, the museum’s chairman, was seeking a “constructive collaboration” with Greek ministers. It is a change of tone from the previous government, which was embroiled in a public diplomatic row last year when Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis referred to the marbles in a press interview. It is a step in the right direction, towards a deal that will enhance Britain’s antiquity and prestige among its partners.
Source: The Times