Dame Janet Suzman, Chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marble


  • The article 'British museums weigh the cost of repatriating exhibits', by the Marketplace, quotes Tiffany Jenkins: 

    “It’s about knowledge, about understanding, about preservation, about audiences. And it’s not about righting the wrongs of history,” Tiffany Jenkins said. “We should be thinking where can these objects be safest and where can they do the most good? Are objects going to be safe if they are returned to Nigeria, are they going to be seen by many people? I’m not convinced they are.”

    Janet Suzman writes to Tiffany Jenkins and questions: "but we live in an age entirely devoted to attempting to right the wrongs of history do we not? All sorts of histories, pre-eminently that of slavery and the colonial occupations of countries and their peoples - and thus of those people’s cultures and possessions - are being questioned. And rightly so. Received mythologies of modern history are increasingly being re-thought and re-interpreted since the end of colonial powers. Britain’s was the most powerful and extensive and we know it took things because it could. The British Museum itself is an astonishing hymn to that concept.

    Papers have reached their 50-year limit and are being released or coming to light. Those people who were there to tell the tale reveal are moved to recount the facts as they lived them before it’s too late. Things don’t stay hidden for ever. Pictures are being very slowly restored to their owners having been taken by the SS. Awareness of so many cultural appropriations is higher than ever it has been. Respect for others, so often falling short in practise, is, willy-nilly, now front and centre.

    I’m a little surprised, too, that you don’t expand on what you mean by the phrase ’do the most good’. You were, I guess, being Aristotelean, but you might be doing the most good to a nation were you to return what is rightfully theirs, be it a precious skull of some ancient folk-hero, or works of sculpture unsurpassed in all of ensuing history.

    Where can certain objects be safest you ask? I would suggest in purpose-built modern museums whose roofs don’t leak and in which the latest technology of temperature control and air conditioning exists. You yourself are an admirer of the stunning New Acropolis Museum in Athens (now more than 13 years old) as I've heard you say so. You cannot surely have a quarrel with the conservatory and scholastic skills at work there?

    What I really fail to understand, though, is what the case can possibly be for denying a country authentic works of its own art. I know great art belongs to everyone, but nothing predicates that London is the sole place through which this ‘everyone’ passes. London’s days of being the centre of the known world are long gone. The internet has happened, and digital sharing amongst places of learning are normal. So is travel.

    In any case, jaw-droppingly accurate digital replicas are now possible. Why on earth should the British Museum have the originals of the Marbles while denying them to Athens? Reverse that insular notion and hey-presto justice is done and excitement beckons as the BM discovers that no-one can possibly tell the difference. Indeed with perfect replicas of all the objects that were sneakily lifted by Elgin the BM might even rise to a corrective by restoring the exquisite patinas that once graced the Parthenon Marbles before they were scrubbed by crude wire brushes into institutionally white supremacist versions. The exquisite replicas can still ’tell their story’ as the authorities always put it. They could even be painted in the colours they once wore if the BM decided to create a block-buster show, or would that be too, too vulgar?

    And as to being seen by many people, I must tell you that the BCRPM took a poll of the proportion of the 6 million annual visitors boasted by the BM only to find that only one sixth of them visit Room 18, the Duveen Galleries. That figure is easily matched and surpassed by the Athens Museum so please don’t worry about numbers.

    Righting the wrongs of history is a tussle that the Western world is going through in a big way as I write this, and, Tiffany Jenkins, it has to be lived through and responded to else the BM and like-minded finders-keepers mentalities will hold us in thrall to the high-handed days of yore, which are mainly despicable in the light of modern sensibilities. Take a leaf, say I, out of the thinking that prevails in the great Dutch museums where a certain humanity prevails. Other museums feel the same it seems. UNESCO certainly does, as a whole body.

    Nothing bad will happen, only good, if arguably the greatest of the national museums were to behave like a mensch and give the blasted Parthenon Marbles back to the Greeks."

    Respecfully and sincerely,
    Janet Suzman

  •  

    The Art Lawyers Association podcast: The Parthenon Marbles Dispute, a 'must listen' as it is relevant to the the status quo.

    The introduction to the podcast states that this is "a discussion of one of the art world's greatest debates. Two of the foremost authorities on the subject, regarding the history and rightful ownership of the Parthenon or "Elgin" Marbles, Mark Stephens CBE and Alexander Herman" speak at length.

    Mark interviews Alexander about his recent book on the subject, published late last year "The Parthenon Marbles Dispute"*, which offers a fresh take on the history of those famous works of ancient sculpture which once adorned the Parthenon Temple on the Acropolis, and continue to be displayed in the British Museum.

    Janet Suzman, Chair of BCRPM described this podcast as "the most in depth discussion she had heard. "Tight and to the point, this podcast touches on all the relevancies of now."

    To listen to the podcast, follow the link here.

    We would also invite readers to look at the paper that the late George Bizos, member of the BCRPM, delivered at the 2012 International Colloquy held in London:"A Legal and Moral Issue, was a valid Firman issued?" Follow the link here to read George's words too.

     * Vice-Chair of the BCRPM, Paul Cartledge reviewed Alexander Herman's book, to read his words, follow the link here.

  • BCRPM congratulate the British Museum for the hugely successful 'Rodin And the Art of Ancient Greece' exhibition (26 April - 29 July 2018) and Janet Suzman, BCRPM's Chair, adds that this is the right time to consider reuniting the sculptures from the Parthenon in the Acropolis Museum. 

    12 April 2018, Philip Stephens wrote in the Financial Times:

    The west's great museums should return their looted treasures.
    He refers to the case of the Parthenon Marbles: "To my mind, it also seems perfectly obvious that Lord Byron was right and the Parthenon sculptures belong to Athens, whatever the deal struck by Lord Elgin and the then Ottoman rulers of Greece. I concede, though, that this is a dispute with some way to run. But "hard" cases should not be allowed to obstruct just settlement in instances of egregious looting. The wider debate may not go away, but restitution in these cases would take the museums on to higher ethical ground."

    23 April 2018, Donald Lee for the Art Newspaper, wrote: 

    Rodin's debt to Parthenon sculptures explored in British Museum exhibition.

    In the exhibition Rodin and the Art of Ancient Greece, the British Museum makes clear Rodin's close study and use of the museum's own ancient Greek art for the development of his sculpture.

    To read the full article, click here 

    24 April 2018 , Melanie Mcdonagh writes in the Evening Standard

    Rodin and the Art of Ancient Greece Reviewed. The master sculptor meets the Greek greats at the British Museum.

    If ever there were an exhibition that plays to a museum's strengths, it's this one. Rodin and the Art of Ancient Greece is about the artist's obsession with Greek statuary in general and the Elgin Marbles in particular. So the exhibition is a kind of dialogue between Rodin and the artefacts of the museum, which he first visited in 1881 and loved.

    24 April 2018, Jonathan Jones writes in the Guardian:

    British Museum, London
    The Frenchman made some of the best loved sculptures in the world. But his magnificent work is still no match for the Parthenon Marbles. My god, what art!

    26 April 2018, Michael Glover also reveiwed the Rodin exhibition in the Independent. He wrote that there's 'a lovely, easy panache to this show'.

    26 April 2018, the Greek Ambassador in London, H E Dimitris Caramitsos-Tziras wrote to Hartwig Fischer, Director of the British Museum, you can read his letter here.

    28 April, 2018, Hettie Judah's article entitled: 'Rodin and the Art of Ancient Greece, British Museum, review: remarkably handsome and unabashedly sensual'. 

    The exhibition is not so gauche as to explicitly suggest the influence of the Elgin Marbles on Rodin as any kind of rationale for keeping them at the museum – more it acknowledges the regard in which they were and are held by artists, and the influence they have had on Western European sculpture.

    To read BCRPM's press release, visit here.

     

     

  • British Museum’s Parthenon gallery 10-month closure prompts concerns from Greek officials and campaigners

    Βy Yannis Andritsopoulos, London Correspondent for the Greek daily newspaper Ta Nea, 09 October 2021 

     

    Ta Nea 09.10.2021

    To read the original article, follow the link here.

    Six of the British Museum’s Greek galleries, including the museum’s display of the Parthenon Marbles, have been closed for almost ten months, prompting concerns from Greek officials and campaigners that wet and damp could damage the ancient artworks.

    The museum was forced to close on 16 December 2020 when a national Covid-19 lockdown was put in place. It reopened on 17 May 2021, but some of its Greek galleries remained closed due to ‘essential repairs’.

    Ta Nea Greek daily newspaper visited the museum last week and confirmed that a total of six galleries of Greek art have yet to reopen; Rooms 15, 16, 17 and 18 are closed due to "maintenance"; Rooms 19 and 20 are closed to "comply with social distancing measures".

    The Duveen Gallery (Room 18) which houses the Parthenon Sculptures, has been closed since December 2020.

    Its leaky roof has made news many times before.

    In December 2018, the glass roof of Room 18 began leaking after heavy rainfall in London. Witnesses reported seeing water dripping just centimetres away from the west pediment figure of Iris. More recently, leaks were caused by a heavy rainfall on July 25th that flooded central London.

    The Greek government as well as campaigners for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles have expressed concern about the poor state of the rooms.

    On August 15, the International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures (IARPS), which represents 21 national committees around the world, wrote to the British Museum Chairman Sir Richard Lambert, its Director Dr. Hartwig Fischer and its Trustees. To read the letter, follow the link here.

    A copy of the letter was also sent to Prime Minister Johnson, the newly appointed Chair of the Trustees, George Osborne and the then Secretary of Culture, Oliver Dowden.

    It said that “the planned reopening of the Greek rooms, postponed ‘until further notice’, after months of lockdown, is a deep worry,” adding that the “possible humidity problem (creates) a dangerous condition for the sculptures”.

    It also called on the Museum to "reconsider its viewpoint on the continued division of the Parthenon Sculptures", noting that “there is a moral obligation to return and to reunify all the surviving Parthenon Sculptures in the Acropolis Museum with a direct visual contact to the Parthenon”.

    "It is saddening that Room 18 has been closed ‘until further notice’," IARPS President Dr Christiane Tytgat told Ta Nea, adding that "the inappropriate climate conditions in the room are upsetting".

    "I hope," she said, " that we do not have to wait another 22 years before we can admire the Parthenon Sculptures on display in London again, as it happened before, when the Duveen Gallery was hit by a bomb in 1940 and reopened only in 1962! Even if the Sculptures were then stored in a safe place and undamaged."

    Almost two months later, the Museum has not responded to the letter, which Dr. Tytgat described as "sad."

    Dame Janet Suzman, Chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles (BCRPM), told Ta Nea: “I would be a happy person if Room 18 were permanently closed because those spectacular sculptures taken by the marauding Lord Elgin deserve to be reunited in the Acropolis Museum. No one can say for certain what remedial work is being done in the Greek galleries of the British Museum or for how long. The lack of climate controls in an old building are self-evident and has been questioned by BCRPM on other occasions: blow-heaters in winter, open exit doors in summer, leaking roof during the rainy season.”

    “We urge the British Museum to stop repeating by rote the same mantra and to reunite those emblematic marble figures in the superlative Acropolis Museum, which has been built to the latest standards and allows visitors to view them in context with the Parthenon,” she added.

    Professor Paul Cartledge, Vice-Chair of the BCRPM and Vice-President of the IARPS, told Ta Nea that he has found “the Trustees' failure to respond at all to the letter deeply disappointing - not at all the way to begin dialogueon this pressing cultural issue in a way fitting of its importance. Dismissing this very specific request is tantamount to not understanding the importance of cultural diplomacy. Time for the British Museum and the UK to join the 21st century, although it would have been good and great if they were to lead the way.”

    Closed ‘until further notice’.

    The website of the British Museum states that the Greek galleries are "closed until further notice", due to "regular maintenance works".

    UNESCO recently expressed “concern that the Duveen Gallery of the British Museum is not currently open to the public due to essential repairs”, adding that it “looks forward to its reopening in due course.”

    In his interview with Ta Nea, in January 2019, the director of the Museum, Dr. Hartwig Fischer, claimed that there was "a tiny leak" (in Room 18’s roof) which was “fixed right away ".

    Lina Mendoni, Greece’s Culture minister has said that the conditions for exhibiting the Parthenon Sculptures at the British Museum “are not only inappropriate, but also dangerous”.

    A British Museum spokesperson told Ta Nea that “there has previously been some water ingress in some gallery spaces closure”, adding that “there is no confirmed date for their reopening, but we are working towards later this autumn.”

    The British Museum’s comment to Ta Nea in full:

    “The Museum is an historic and listed building and there are ongoing infrastructure assessments across the site. We have a team of specialists who make regular checks across the Museum to monitor and ensure appropriate management of risks to the collection. The care of the collection and the safety of our visitors and staff are our utmost priority.

    “The essential works being undertaken are part of a programme of building maintenance and conservation which will help enable future works on the Museum estate. Alongside these essential repairs, we are developing a strategic masterplan to transform the British Museum for the future. It will involve actively renovating our historic buildings and estate, improving our visitor experience and undertaking an ambitious redisplay of the collection in the years to come.

    “Galleries 14 to 18 on the ground floor have been temporarily removed from the public access route. The Museum has undertaken a programme of work within these galleries and the scheduling of this work was delayed due to the impact of the pandemic on the Museum’s programme.

    “Further works and surveys were undertaken this summer and these galleries are currently closed to ensure the safety of our visitors and the collection whilst these surveys are carried out. There has previously been some water ingress in some gallery spaces closure.

    “There is no confirmed date for their reopening, but we are working towards later this autumn.”

    Images below showing the closed door that has been temporaily erected across the entrance of Room 23 of the British Museu's Greek galleries. With a notice explaining that Rooms 12-18 are closed. Some of the galleries are closed for social distancing purposes with others closed for maintenance.

    Closure BM door 09 10 2021Closure of Room 18 BM sign

    Photo credit: Yannis Andritsopoulos, London Correspondent for the Greek daily newspaper Ta Nea, 09.10.2010 

    Dr Tom Flynn's tweet below echoes the thoughts of many millions across the globe that support the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles:

    Tom Flynns tweet 09 October

     

  • Calls for return of Parthenon Sculptures mount as Acropolis Museum celebrates 11th anniversary

    Βy Yannis Andritsopoulos, London Correspondent for Ta Nea, Greece's daily newspaper 

    Boris Johnson loves Ancient Greece. He studied classics at Oxford, he used to speak ancient Greek at home with his siblings, his hero is Pericles and he often tries to impress his audience by reciting extracts from the Iliad.

    His love for the ancient Greek civilisation seems to be so deep that, apparently, he wants to keep a piece of it forever: the Parthenon Sculptures. They have been on display in the British Museum since 1817, a year after they were sold to the British government by Lord Elgin who had controversially removed them from the Parthenon.

    Just over 200 years later, Britain's refusal to engage in talks with Greece about the Marbles’ return has sparked an international backlash.

    On the occasion of the 11th anniversary of the Acropolis Museum in Athens, the Greek Culture minister, three British MPs and the Chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles are calling for the Parthenon Sculptures’ return in exclusive comments published in Ta Nea, Greece’s daily newspaper.

    British Museum Director Hartwig Fischer told Ta Neathat the Acropolis Museum and the British Museum “are complementary in their approach,” adding that the museum “looks forward to continuing our collaboration and fruitful dialogue with our colleagues at the Acropolis Museum.”

    Opinion polls show that the British people think the Parthenon Marbles should be returned to Athens. The most recent YouGov survey was released in June 2018 and it indicated that 56 percent said the Marbles belong in Greece.
    However, the British government and the British Museum say the issue is out of the question.

    A UK government spokesperson told Ta Nea: “The UK’s position on the Parthenon sculptures remains unchanged – they are legally owned by the British Museum. This will not be up for discussion in any future trade negotiations.”

    A British Museum spokesperson confirmed that the institution's position on the issue has not changed. The museum has previously said that a permanent return of the Parthenon Sculptures is not being considered, and if Greece wants to borrow them, it must first acknowledge the British Museum's ownership.

    Mr Johnson is opposed to the reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures. He has said that the Marbles “were rescued, quite rightly, by Elgin” and has criticised George Clooney for suggesting Britain should return them to Greece.

    However, his father, Stanley Johnson, has said there should be “a fruitful dialogue between the Greek and the British authorities (on this issue).”

     Greece’s Culture Minister Lina Mendoni told Ta Nea:

    “Perhaps the main argument that the British Museum has been making for years in order not to return the Parthenon Sculptures - since 1982, when Melina Mercouri raised the issue at a UNESCO Conference of Ministers - was that Greece did not have a modern museum that could house the masterpieces of Phidias.

    “Since September 2003, when the construction work for the Acropolis Museum began, Greece has been systematically demanding the return of the Sculptures which are on display in the British Museum, because they are products of theft.

    “The current Greek government - like any Greek government - is not going to stop claiming the stolen sculptures which the British Museum continues to hold illegally contrary to any moral principle.

    “The British government, which is washing its hands of the issue, is in stark contrast to the British public, the vast majority of which support the return of the Sculptures to their homeland.

    “It is sad that one of the world's largest and most important museums is still governed by outdated colonialist views of the 1880s, and keeps on dismissing basic values of modern scientific ethics.

    “Let's not forget that it was not only Elgin who mauled the Sculptures, but also the British Museum itself, using inappropriate and unscientific methods during their conservation.

    “It is time for the British Museum to do what moral law and the monument (of the Parthenon) itself demands, which is also what the international public opinion is increasingly demanding.”

    Dr Hartwig Fischer, Director of the British Museum, told Ta Nea:

    “We send our colleagues at the Acropolis Museum our very best wishes on the occasion of their 11th anniversary: the museum provides a fantastic window into classical Athens, and is one of the great museums of the world.

    “The Acropolis Museum and the British Museum are complementary in their approach, one providing an in-depth view of a major ancient city, the other a sense of the wider context and sustained cultural dialogue with the neighbouring civilisations of Egypt and the Near East in antiquity, and more recently.

    “We look forward to continuing our collaboration and fruitful dialogue with our colleagues at the Acropolis Museum, which in recent years has included scholarly workshops, staff placements and sharing knowledge from researching ancient polychromy to questions of display and presentation.”

    Conservative MP Sir Roger Gale told Ta Nea:

    “While I do not hold to the view that all artefacts should be returned to their country of origin it does seem to me that the Parthenon Marbles have a good home to be returned to and a facility in which they can be properly displayed in home surroundings for the benefit and enjoyment of visitors from all over the world.”

    Labour MP Mary Glindon told Ta Nea:

    “I have enjoyed several classical tours of Greece and a highlight of those tours has always been the visit to the Acropolis and the Parthenon. But it’s sad that the Parthenon Marbles are in London. While they are seen in the British Museum by many people, as many, if not more, would appreciate seeing the Marbles as part of the amazing cultural experience to be enjoyed when visiting the Parthenon and the Acropolis Museum. The Marbles belong in Athens.”

    SNP MP Margaret Ferrier told Ta Nea:

    “The Acropolis Museum has enabled the sections of the frieze and the metopes to be enjoyed in their original context and it is now time for the Parthenon Marbles to join them. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, Brexit negotiations are continuing at pace and calls are growing for the Marbles to be returned to Greece. Returning them would be a sign that the UK is genuinely committed to looking outwards to the world after Brexit.”

    Dame Janet Suzman, Chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, told Ta Nea:

    “There’s always an anniversary to celebrate. June 16th marked the 44th year since the student uprising in Soweto that was a turning point in the downfall of the apartheid state. A global reaction to the murder of a black man in America is sweeping the world, and those same students, grown much older if they survived at all, want to honour that murder by urging “a move away from a world centred on white supremacy and violence to one centred on justice and equity”.

    “That argument was taken further when last week a statue was torn down from its plinth in the city of Bristol in England and thrown into the waters of the harbour where the slave ships used to anchor. Bristol, aware too well of its past, has decided that the statue should now be placed in the city museum with a full explanation of how the trader became so rich. Visitors can then understand that the defaced bronze figure is not just a benefactor of the city but a man who grew rich on other people’s misery, by exploiting the cruellest of white supremacies - the slave trade.

    “And in Greece, the end of the Ottoman Empire’s occupation will be celebrated next year. Taking over bits of the world and ruling them according to your own values is an occupation that the British know only too well; at its height that Empire ruled a third of the world. So when Lord Elgin, British ambassador to the Ottoman court, decided he wanted to send back bits of the Parthenon to adorn his house in Scotland, he didn't bother to ask the subject Greeks, he greased the palms of functionaries from Istanbul, persuaded his own king to provide a ship and made off with the glory that was Greece. They landed up in Room 18 of the British Museum and for 200 years have been one of its star attractions.

    “So we need to ask The British Museum, hiding from the tsunami of anti-colonialist feeling sweeping the whole world, whether they would have the decency to provide visitors with the full story: how did these incomparable pieces of sculpture torn from the greatest building in the western world get to sit - out of context - in the grey grandeur of Room 18? Reunification of the Marbles would seem to be a move away from white British exceptionalism and a move towards a world the survivors of Soweto are desperate to see. While supremacy stole them away and a white sense of justice should see them restored. But until that time comes, as it surely must: tell the story. Let the people judge the fairness of their captivity in London. There is a museum waiting for them in Athens.”

    Published in Ta Nea, Greece’s daily newspaper (www.tanea.gr)
    Publication date: 20 June 2020
    English version: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/calls-return-parthenon-sculptures-mount-acropolis-andritsopoulos
    Original version in Greek (paywall): https://www.tanea.gr/print/2020/06/20/lifearts/lifestyle/epistrepste-lfta-glypta-lftou-parthenona/

     

  • Janet Suzman, the chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, joined Thanos Davelis on Wednesday 13 October 2022 for a second time on the podcast 'The Greek Current' to discuss whether a deal for the return of the Parthenon Marbles could at last, be on the horizon.

    To listen to this podcast visit: Could a deal to return the Parthenon Marbles be on the horizon? (simplecast.com)

    Prime Minister Mitsotakis said he believes that the time for such a deal is here and we did hear George Osborne  the Chair of the British Museum Trustees, say those very words in a radio interview with Andrew Marr in June. But Mr Osborne words were about sharing the sculptures: "I think there's a deal to be done, but I think there's a deal to be done where we can tell both stories in Athens and in London." And for many this telling of two stories has worn thin, including BCRPM's member Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, whose letter was published in the Times Letter's Page on  the 18th of June.

    Janet Suzman stresses to Thanos that timing is everything and right now UK's political landscape's stormy autumn may not be the ideal time for PM Mitsotakis to ask about a cultural matter when he looks to meets with PM Liz Truss. The  support of King Charless III was also discussed. Janet also mentioned BCRPM's role keeing the topic in the media, and that this continues to add value.

    On the plus side, the attitude of the public in Britain continues to be in favour of the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, and this has always been a motivational factor for the campaign.

    current Janet and Thanos

  • Victoria Solomonides, Boris Johnson, Thaila Stathatou and Greek Minister of Culture, Melina Mercouri at Oxford University June 1986

    23 December 2021, TA Nea

    Four eminent figures in British public life, speak to Yannis Andritsopulos, UK Correspndent for Ta Nea and ask Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures

    When he was young, he said that one day he would become "king of the world." Later, Boris Johnson lowered the bar: he decided to become Britain's prime minister. In 2019, he made it to that post.

    The reputation that follows him, however, is not that of the great leader, but of the deceptive politician, who will not hesitate to say and do anything - and later take it back - if he thinks it will benefit him.

    He did the same with the Parthenon Sculptures: in 1986 he was a prominent advocate for their return to Greece, confessing that Elgin stole them, as revealed by "TA NEA" last Saturday, 18 December 2021. Today, he claims the opposite. Could he change his mindonce again and allow the Greeks to rediscover their "pride and identity", as Melina Mercouri described Pheidias' masterpieces?

    Eminent personalities of British public life are asking Prime Minister Johnson to do the right thing and facilitate the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles in the Acropolis Museum. Speaking to Ta Nea:

    Janet Suzman, Chair of the British Committtee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles

    [RETURNING the Marbles to Greece] 'would require an Act of Parliament to hand them back. This, needless to say, seems to be a more or less insuperable brake on the process of return - yet it could be passed in an afternoon.'
    I quote this observation from the younger Boris Johnson’s paper on the theft of the Parthenon Marbles because it isolates the nub of the present situaation. What he is saying is that where there’s a will there’s a way. Once a government had decided to do the right thing and return the Marbles to their mother country, the Act that formally adopted them could be quickly rescinded to un-adopt them. One senses a faint groundswell of feeling that is tending that way; if you took a poll today most people would say it is only fair and right that the Parthenon Marbles should be returned. Mr Mitsotakis should soon make a quiet return visit to Mr Johnson and gently persuade him to make amends. It would enhance a reputation much battered by indecisions and prevarications not to say certain economies with the truth. Come back Mr Mitsotakis - this is your baby!

     

    Paul Cartledge, Professor Emeritus of Greek Culture at the University of Cambridge, Vice Chair of the BCRPM and IARPS


    At 22, Boris Johnson had a brighter vision than he had as mayor of London, then as foreign secretary and, now, as prime minister. Last week it was ten years since the untimely loss of Christopher Hitchens, a passionate man who was a fellow student of mine at the University of Oxford in the late 1960s. He was one of the most ardent supporters of the reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures and I can well imagine how he would comment on the recriminations and inconsistencies of Johnson, once a student of Classical Studies at Oxford, and now our pitiful prime minister.

    Edith Hall,  Professor of Classics and Ancient Greek Literature at Durham University, member of BCRPM


    Boris Johnson's attitude to the sculptures of the Parthenon is that they are no more than a rhetorical football in his eternal game of self-promotion. As an undergraduate who liked to titillate audiences by presenting himself as a subversive controversialist, he accidentally produced an excellent moral and legal case for immediate reunification. But as a self-seeking politician he mouths what he thinks it is expedient for the most narrow-minded of his party loyalists to hear.

    Sickening cynicism. He is a moral invertebrate.

    But even he may be embarrassed by this astonishing discovery.


    Sarah Baxter, former deputy editor of The Sunday Times

     

    Johnson has in his office a bust of Pericles, which is a copy of the bust in the British Museum. Accordingly, the British Museum should commission copies of the Parthenon Sculptures and return the real ones to Greece. The reunification of the Marbles is morally imperative. In a last noble gesture as prime minister, Johnson should return them to where they belong. When arguing in favour of Greece, in the article he wrote as a student, Johnson noted that the Greek gods cannot and should not be deceived. Be sure that if he returns the Sculptures, the gods will smile at him again.

    Boris Johnson and the triumph of Melina Mercouri

    boris and melina

    Boris Johnson with Melina Mercouri at Oxford University June 1986

    In 1986, Johnson asked Melina Mercouri to speak at an Oxford Union debate on the subject of the reunification of Parthenon Sculptures. The Greek Minister of Culture won the debate by 167 votes in favour and 85 against. Dr Victoria Solomonides, a member of the Board of Directors of the Melina Mercouri Foundation, then an educational advisor at the Greek Embassy in London, reveals the background to this triumph.


    "In October 1983, with the establishment of BCRPM, we began with the late Eleni Cubittthe effort to join British personalities. In the autumn of 1985, we came into contact with Oxford students. Among them, Boris Johnson, then secretary of the Oxford Union. When he was elected president, we proposed to hold a discussion on the subject with speakers Melina and the professor of logic, Michael Dammett. He immediately accepted and appointed as rapporteurs of the opposite side the architectural historian Gavin Stamp and the writer Jonathan Barnes. Although Johnson did not express a clear opinion on the return of the Sculptures, the impression we got was that it was positive. His article revealed by "TA NEA" is based on and, to a large part, copies the notes we had sent him to prepare for the event."

    Eleni twitter

  • An exclusive by UK Correspondent Yannis Andritsopoulos in Ta Nea.

    Experts believe that the British Museum has made a “massive shift” in its policy regarding the loaning of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece, possibly opening the way for the first constructive discussions on the artefacts’ return after decades of dead-ends.

    In what appears to be a softening of its earlier stance, a museum spokesperson told Greek daily newspaper Ta Nea that borrowers “normally” acknowledge that the lender has title to the objects they want to borrow.

    This is significant because until now, the museum has insisted that the acceptance of the lending institution’s ownership is a “precondition” for any loan.

    However, when questioned by Ta Nea, the museum’s spokesperson stopped short of reiterating the word “precondition”, used by the museum for many years, repeatedly nixing the concerted campaign for the Marbles’ return Greece has been carrying out since the 1980s. Instead, the spokesperson replaced “precondition” with the word “normally”.

    Experts in art and museum law and cultural heritage, British campaigners and Greek officials said that the new language marks an “important shift” and indicates that the museum is taking a step back by demonstrating a “greater openness” towards negotiating a possible loan with Greece.

    Successive Greek governments have rejected offers from the British Museum to discuss the possibility of returning the 2,500-year-old sculptures on loan, arguing that it would mean renouncing any Greek claim to Phidias’s masterpieces, which have been in London for more than two centuries.

    The British Museum claims to have legal title to the fifth-century B.C. antiquities. Greece, however, insists that the museum possesses the sculptures illegally and has been demanding their permanent reunification with the rest of the Parthenon frieze.

    The apparent softening of the museum’s wording made some experts and lawyers think that the UK might be open for discussion about a loan without the once non-negotiable precondition of acknowledging ownership.

    The museum has always said in written statements that “a pre-condition for any loan is the acceptance of the lending institution’s ownership”.

    Last week, however, a British Museum spokesperson told Ta Nea that the borrowing institution “normally” acknowledges the museum’s ownership of the object they wish to borrow.

    Asked three times whether it still stands by its previous statement, the spokesperson declined to answer.

    “All loan requests are considered in exactly the same way. Of primary importance is the conservation of historical significant and delicate objects and whether travel would impact on their condition,” the museum said in a written statement.

    “Borrowers also normally acknowledge that the lender has title to the objects they want to borrow. The Greek government doesn’t agree that the British Museum has title to the Sculptures which makes discussion of loans very difficult,” the spokesperson added.

    ‘Major shift’

    “This is a major shift – and an admission in part – in the carefully calibrated language of diplomacy,” leading cultural property lawyer Mark Stephens told Ta Nea.

    “This marks a changing of the guard at the British Museum and a softening of their stance, indicating a desire to do the ‘right thing’: return the marbles,” he added.

    Stephens, an expert on museum, art, and cultural heritage law, explained that “previously, the museum had been very clear about not allowing the Marbles to go; it was always a complete blockage. But now it appears that that's no longer the case. I think they're drawing the distinction between their own previous position and the current one”.

    He said: “they’re saying that loan requests are considered in light of three subjects: Historical significance, delicacy and whether they would be damaged in transit. Obviously, the Acropolis Museum in Athens meets those three criteria.”

    “Previously, there was a certainty; that a precondition for a loan was that the Greek government had to acknowledge the British Museum's ownership. Now, they're saying that borrowers also ‘normally’ acknowledge ownership, so they’re saying ‘we don't always require this’. They're not saying that it is a precondition anymore. So, what you are seeing is a massive shift. They're opening the door,” said Stephens, who has been twice listed among the “100 most influential people in London” by the Evening Standard newspaper.

    “They also say that the Greek government doesn't agree that the British Museum is the legal owner, which makes discussions of loans ‘very difficult’, but not impossible”, he added.

    “I think there is a difference here, and I think it's a very marked difference. And so I think now is the time to begin the discussion and see if they're as good as their word,” Stephens said.

    A Greek official noted that the new wording "potentially gives some leeway as to how the two parties could negotiate the reunification of the Sculptures through a Palermo-style solution".

    Last month, a marble fragment that once adorned the Parthenon was returned to the Acropolis Museum in Athens. Stone VI on the eastern frieze of the Parthenon was previously held by the Antonino Salinas Regional Archeological Museum in Palermo, Italy. According to the Greek government, the fragment was returned as a “long-term deposit (‘deposito’)”, which means that ownership was not mentioned in the agreement.

    ‘Greater openness’

    “I think (the new language) marks a slight but very important shift in the British Museum's position,” Alexander Herman, Director of the UK-based Institute of Art and Law and author of the recent book Restitution - The Return of Cultural Artefacts told Ta Nea.

    “For a long time, the British Museum referred to the 'pre-condition' that Greece accept the Trustees’ title before a loan could be considered. This pre-condition was always unusual, since nowhere else was it required by the British Museum: it isn't referred to in the British Museum's Loans Policy, meaning that it would not have been a requirement for borrowers other than Greece,” he said.

    According to Herman, “the new language is more in keeping with how loans usually work at the British Museum and elsewhere. It might be assumed that borrowers will accept a lender's title (otherwise why would they borrow?), but one never sees this expressly worded in a loan agreement.”

    “In fact, in most cases one sees the opposite: lenders warrant that they have title to borrowers, since borrowers usually need assurances to avoid the risk of third-party claims during the course of an exhibition.”

    He said: “So the new wording is certainly less categorical and appears to indicate a greater openness on the part of the British Museum to negotiate around the possibility of a loan. This is sensible. In Chapter 2 of my book, I show an example of a long-term loan secured by a Canadian First Nations group from the British Museum in 2005 that is still in place today. So there is precedent, even though it might only relate to a single object.”

    “I realise that in Greece the idea of recognising the British Museum's title and of accepting a loan are unwelcome, but as I wrote in The Art Newspaper in 2019 there are ways of putting title aside, so as to avoid any political fallout. And a loan was acceptable in the case of the Artemis foot from Palermo, so there appears to at least be some tolerance for the L-word in Greece,” Herman concluded.

    “‘Normally’ is always put into such statements in cases where there's a (no matter how remote) possibility of the 'norm' being violated, i.e. an exception to it being made. Therefore, the Greek Government could seek to take advantage of the possibility of an exception. But I would guess that the British Museum’s Trustees would not be willing to make an exception in such a case as the Marbles and moreover in favour of another state's Government,” Paul Cartledge, A.G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture emeritus at the University of Cambridge and Vice-Chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles (BCRPM), told Ta Nea.

    Growing pressure

    Several recent repatriations of artefacts whose ownership has been in question has led to pressure being ratcheted up on the British Museum to follow suit.

    The Parthenon Sculptures are regarded as some of the finest ever works of art and a symbol of the birth of Western civilisation. The campaign for their return was boosted by the recent about-turn by The Times, which argued for the ancient treasures to be returned to Greece. The newspaper had maintained for more than 50 years that the marbles should remain in the UK.

    Ed Vaizey, who served as Culture minister under David Cameron, has also said that the Marbles should go back to Greece. In repeated polls, Britons have voiced support for the repatriation of the carvings.

    Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, has been accused of hypocrisy after Ta Nea unearthed a 1986 article in which he accused Lord Elgin of “wholesale pillage” of the Parthenon and urged the British government to return the artefacts to Greece in a complete reversal of the position he now holds.

    In an exclusive interview with Ta Nea published in March 2021, Johnson claimed that the Parthenon Marbles “were legally acquired by Lord Elgin under the appropriate laws of the time and have been legally owned by the British Museum’s Trustees since their acquisition.”

    Asked if it would consider returning the Parthenon Marbles to Athens permanently and displaying identical copies in London (as was recently suggested by the Oxford-based Institute for Digital Archaeology and by two members of the House of Lords), the British Museum’s spokesperson told Ta Nea:

    “The Parthenon Sculptures play a pivotal role in telling a world story at the British Museum. Together with the wider collection, they help modern-day audiences see how the world they know is shaped by the past. Millions of people visit each year to learn the stories of people and cultures from the earliest moments of human history to the present day”.

    “There are replicas of the British Museum’s Sculptures in the Acropolis Museum, where they are displayed alongside the remaining sculptures removed from the Parthenon during the past few decades,” the spokesperson added.

    “The British Museum’s purpose is to prompt debate, thought, understanding and learning. Only 50% of the Parthenon sculptures survive today, with much lost to history. Now two great museums share custodianship of the majority of the surviving sculptures. The British Museum is confident that these two institutions have well-defined roles.”

    Asked about the possibility of a loan, the museum’s spokesperson said: “We have never been asked for a loan of the Parthenon sculptures by Greece or the Acropolis Museum. We have a strong relationship with colleagues at the Acropolis Museum and are very willing to explore any requests for a loan with them.

    “We lend objects from the collection to countries all over the world. We believe in the importance of lending our collection, it strengthens the stories the collection tells and when displayed alongside other objects, they create new stories and conversations. In 2014 the museum lent one of the Parthenon sculptures to the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Russia, on the anniversary of that museum's foundation.”

    However, the museum did not respond when asked whether an ‘indefinite’ loan could be agreed upon.

    Instead, it said that “the British Museum will lend only in circumstances when the borrower guarantees that the object will be returned to the museum at the end of the loan period (the Trustees will normally expect the borrower to provide assurance of immunity from judicial seizure or comparable assurance from a government body or representative of appropriate authority).”

    “The British Museum is not changing its tune as it still persists in the myth that a full story is being told by keeping half the figures taken from the Parthenon in London while the other half is shown in Athens which is so obviously a concocted story. Try telling it to a child whose natural logic will instantly spy the hole in the argument; they know perfectly well that half and half makes a whole,” Dame Janet Suzman, Chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, told Ta Nea.

    “The Marbles were made to be together and one day they will be where they belong. The same goes for all the disfigured reliefs, with half a horse here and the other half galloping over there, it’s crazy! The Fat Lady of Bloomsbury is still singing her old song, silly old thing, but the world is already tiring of it,” she added.

    “The change in the wording from the British Museum has been noted. We sincerely hope this means a change of heart. Greece has been doing an exemplary job of conserving its ancient monuments on the Acropolis and in the Acropolis Museum. The primary historically significant story of the sculptures is that which they tell as one and in reference to the Parthenon, which still stands,” commented BCRPM's Marlen Godwin.

    “The British Museum’s insistence that the narratives it creates with the fragmented sculptures it holds is of greater importance, is out of step with the changes that are already happening. Respect for such a peerless collection should trump any selfish need or greed to keep the sculptures so brutally (and criminally) divided. These sculptures belong to the Parthenon and that is still, firmly on Greek soil. Today’s inequalities of the past, such as the continued division of the sculptures isn’t going to erase the sublime display they command in Athens nor the understanding they provide to visitors. Here’s to the bright, best practice museum curators that are getting it right,” she added.

    This news report was published in the Greek daily newspaper Ta Nea on 12 February 2022. To read it in Greek follow the link here or follow the link for the English version.

    Ta Nea 12.02.2022Ta nea 2nd page

     

  • This article in The Guardian on Sunday, by Chloe Mac Donnell is terrifically pleasing to BCRPM:

    At Erdem Moralıoğlu’s show, held at the British Museum, the actors Kristin Scott Thomas and Ruth Wilson were guests of honour. The catwalk was staged in front of the Parthenon marbles – the fifth-century BC masterpieces that sparked Rishi Sunak’s recent diplomatic “blunder”. Moralıoğlu, whose collection was inspired by the American-born Greek soprano Maria Callas, said he had chosen the location to reflect how Callas had been “uprooted”. A booklet of images and notes left on each guest’s seat highlighted how, for Callas, “the absence of home was poignant and profound”.

    It’s really very exciting that such a high profile fashion show was staged in front of the Marbles, because Erdem made a point of emphasising how for Callas - his Muse - “the absence of home was poignant and profound”. Just so.

    Those present were facing away from Pheidias’s figures but from those silent stones at their backs they will have felt ‘Time's winged chariot drawing near’.

    If those Marbles could only speak they would express the same haunting feeling of being uprooted, so we must speak for them. The day will surely come when those grievously uprooted sculptures will go home.

    And on Wednesday 21 February in The Times, Victoria Hislop's thoughts on the fashion show too.

    "An archaeologist pointed out to me, the volume of people present at Erdem’s show, plus the lighting and cameras, would have affected the temperature and humidity in the gallery. This could well have had a negative effect on these priceless works of art.

    The sculptures are not indestructible — but they are irreplaceable. In London there are neoclassical buildings everywhere you look that could have been used for commercial promotion, all of them inspired by the architecture of ancient Greece. Yet the link between what the models were wearing and Medea or Greek sculpture seems spurious.

    One irony is that the audience sat with their backs to the Parthenon sculptures — they wouldn’t have noticed if they were there or not. So why take the risk of damage? Of offence?" Asks Victoria.

  • Tonight at the Freud Museum in Hampstead, London, the unveiling of a Parthenon sculpture carved from the same Greek marble used on the originals 2,500 years ago. The sculpture of a horse’s head, carved by robots from marble provided Mount Pentelicus, Greece, is a replica of one of half of the surviving Parthenon sculptures held by the British Museum since Lord Elgin took them from the  Athens in the early 19th century.

    The Oxford-based Institute for Digital Archaeology (IDA) created the replica of the horses head, the chariot horse of the goddess Selene, currently in the British Museum from a one-tonne chunk of marble from the same quarry on Mount Pentelicus that Phidias used in the 5th century BC.

    The IDA tweeted yesterday: 

    tweet

     

    Roger Michel, the founder of the IDA, had recently spoken to George Osborne, the British Museum chairman, about displaying the replicas, adding that this had not been ruled out. More on this inThe Times

    "I found the UCLA/Getty program in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage with the presentation by Roger Michel, the Executive Director of The Institute for Digital Archaeology very  interesting. Especially Roger Michel's longish parenthesis on the ‘whiteness mania’ of the British Museum. It’s Britishness stronger than the ‘Museumness' of it.

    The BM discarding its old tropes so it moves into the zeitgeist of the 21stC, the sheer quality of objects from Athens they could then have to show, once the Marbles are where they have to be, and Roger's unexpected optimism about George Osborne himself. That surprised me. Of course I am learning all the time.

    I find myself much more taken with the positives that could occur once the dam wall is breached than who did what when; things move so fast now. " Janet Suzman, Chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles (BCRPM).

    janet200

     

  • Chris Hastings in the Mail on Sunday, 04 December 2022 writes: 

    George Osborne is in secret discussions with Greece's Prime Minister over returning the Elgin Marbles

    • George Osborne, chairman of the British Museum, in talks over Elgin Marbles
    • Believed he and Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis discussed their return last month
    • The marbles were removed by Lord Elgin between 1801 and 1812 from Greece

    British Museum chairman George Osborne has been discussing the possible return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece with its prime minister.

    The talks between the former Chancellor and Kyriakos Mitsotakis are believed to have taken place last month during the Greek leader’s visit to the UK.

    The talks have led to renewed speculation that the museum could announce the return of some or all of the Elgin Marbles to Greece either as a loan or as part of a permanent repatriation.

    The marbles, dating back to the 5th Century BC, were removed by Lord Elgin between 1801 and 1812.

    Greece, which would place them in a museum close to the Parthenon from where they were taken, has said it will offer the British Museum antiquities never before seen outside the country.

    Actress Dame Janet Suzman, who chairs the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, said: ‘This is a very positive step forward. 

    'George Osborne might be interested in a legacy and this might be a very enlightened one.’

  • It’s a bit disappointing that such a factually doubtful argument is sketched in by Jonathan Sumption about the Parthenon marbles, in complete contrast to his nice assessment of the travails of English National Opera, where a grossly unfair and skinflinty case has been put by ACE in wrenching this marvellous opera organisation limb from limb.

    These scupltures were removed without express permission from the occupying power by Lord Elgin, Britain’s ambassador to the Ottoman court, who wanted them to adorn his Scottish pile. The museum in Athens which Sumption airily dismisses was expressly built to house them, is gloriously modern, and is directly opposite the Parthenon so the visitor will at long last be able to make visual sense of where the figures stood before being hacked off the building by Elgin’s clumsy workers.

    parthenon and lowering of frieze

    UNESCOhas voted as one to have them returned to their home turf. The Hellenic Republic itself has committed to have them returned the moment it gained its independence from Ottoman rule. Nor can the British Museum claim to have cared for them with curatorial exactitude; in Duveen’s day they had them scrubbed with wire cleaners to restore ‘whiteness’ to the Pentelic marble thereby removing the precious patina that had protected them.

    ian cleaning

    Besides that destructive gaffe, Room 18 leaks and had been closed for a year and it has no air conditioning so cold and heat are always wafting through these rooms. And by the bye, there are far more than just 'three sadly deteriorated panels' in that Acropolis Museum, there is also the other half of the matchless pedimental figures and they deserve to be seen as a whole. Not to mention the frieze and the metopes. 

    climate controls collage with 3 seasons

    As to the hysterical slippery slope scenario that Jonathan Sumption fears, the Greeks are not asking for a single piece bar the British Museum’s ill-gotten Parthenon marbles. I don’t know what special hot-line he might have to lament the loss of all the world treasures he cites, but apart from the Benin Bronzes, Rosetta Stone, Hoa Hakananai'a,  we have not heard of any decimatory demands from elsewhere. Those museums that have opted to return seminal cultural objects taken in colonial days will have shown an openness of mind that the BM might well emulate in this instance.

    I suggest former Judge Jonathan Sumption sticks to opera as his pet subject, and leaves Greek sculpture to its own battles.

    + PS: London: the British Museum displays around half of the surviving works: 56 blocks of frieze (247ft), 15 metopes (panels) and 17 pediment figures.
    Athens: the Acropolis Museum displays 40 blocks of frieze, 48 metopes and 9 pediment figures. Fragments from the same pieces are in London and Athens. One can’t help wondering if Jonathan Sumption would perhaps enjoy his Rheingold more if he watched the first half in London and flew to Bayreuth during the long interval for the second bit?

    Jonathan Sumptions article ( 'The cringing self-abasement of Britain’s museums') was published in The Spectator on 25 February 2023. Janet Suzman's response was sent into the publication to both the letters section and editorial. No part of Janet's response was published.

     

  • Jonathan Sumption dismisses any questions that might arise about Lord Elgin's legal title to the sculptures removed from the Partheon at the start of the 18th century. His article 'The Elgin Marbles weren’t stolen — Greece is just exploiting our weakness' (thetimes.co.uk) goes on to state:  

    "For most people, however, the issue is moral and cultural, not legal. So be it. What would be morally or culturally admirable about removing the Elgin Marbles from a museum in London to a museum in Athens?

    Cultural artefacts have always moved around the world."

    To read, BCRPM's Chair, Janet Suzman's response to Jonathan Sumption, please follow the link here

    Christopher Price, long servicing Vice -Chair of BCRPM, wrote extensively on the merits of cultural mobility, and yet when it came to the Parthenon Marbles, he would have argued that they deserve, (those that survive), to be seen in the context of the Parthenon. An iconic structure, which not only stands, and has been restored and preserved for all humanity, but one that crowns the Acropolis. The emblem of UNESCO.

    Jonathan Sumption goes on to list fragments of the sculptures from the Parthenon elsewhere: 'Paris, Vienna, Copenhagen' yet forgets to mention those museums that did have fragments, and that have returned them to be reunited in the Parthenon Gallery of the Acropolis Museum. Those frafments include returns from Heidelberg, Palermoand The Vatican

    BCRPM agrees wholeheartedly that the Parthenon Marbles, culturally have a great significance for all humanity, yet is right for the UK and the British Museum to dicate how that cultural patrimony ought to be exhibited and understood, even appreciated by all humanity, especially as the removal of the pieces still in London took place when Greece had no voice?

    Even without the sculptures in Room 18, the British Museum would still retain its status as a universal museum. In fact it would be elevated even further. For it is cultural co-operation in the 21st century that matters to most. Any references to cultural dispute sound so out of step, and look at the reaction at UNESCO's ICPRCP sessions especially towards the UK and in relation to this impasse. Culture matters, and it matters globally. In the case of this very specific request, Greece's ask is wholly justified. BCRPM's founders, with past and present members, stand by this, as do many all over the world.

    Jonathan Sumption goes on to write: "Let no one say that the return of the marbles would set no precedent. The world is watching this dispute.This is a fight that we cannot afford to lose, and certainly cannot afford to concede." And yet again, this is misleading. No mention of the fact that in the British Museum there are 108,184 Greek artefacts, of which only 6,493 are even on display. Or that this is the ONLY request made by Greece since independence, and continues to be the only request made to this day.

    The world is watching but only in astonishment at the UK's lack of that very British sense of fairplay. Dare we add, diplomacy and regard for international relations too? How can we forget PM Sunak's decision not to meet with PM Mitsotakis in November? Will any Greek person, or anyone around the globe, forget that snub? Many however, were in admiration of King Charles' tie, worn at COP28, when he met with PM Sunak. The message? Not all world leaders behave like a Head Boy that's not prepared to do more than cancell a pre-arranged meeting that covered timely topics including the continued division of these specific sculptures. 

    "The Greeks are pressing their claim because they sense weakness. Since it was first formally advanced in 1983, they have skilfully exploited the relentless denigration of Britain’s past.They calculate that modern Britain lacks the self-confidence to defend itself. Are they right? The present negotiations implicitly concede that they may be.

    Rishi Sunak should probably not have rudely cancelled his meeting with the Greek prime minister. But his statement that it should be unthinkable for any responsible British prime minister to contemplate ceding possession of the Elgin Marbles showed a sounder instinct than George Osborne’s." Concludes Jonathan Sumption.

    The first request for the return of the sculptures removed only from the Parthenon, came shortly after Greece gained independence. Jonathan Sumption's reference to 1983 is the plea made by Melina Mercouri at UNESCO and that was the year that BCRPM was founded, nearly 150 years after the first request. Repeated requests made by Greece for these specific sculptures. So many have worked on the ways that would make the reunification work, and continue to provide the British Museum with artefacts not seen outside of Greece. For the last 23 years the offer of 'other artefacts' to be made available to the UK, has been on the table too.

    Many have voiced their concerns at the UK's lack of empathy or understanding. Polls continue to support the reunification, yet few voices, including Jonathan Sumption continue to justify the division of this peerless collecion of sculptures. BCRPM continues to also add: the time has come to do the right thing by the Parthenon, and to add another chapter to the story of these priceless artefacts. Tell the story. 

     

  • On 13 June 2018, Vice-Chair of BCRPM, Professor Paul Cartledge wrote in the Frieze. It was at that time that the then leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn had also announced his support for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles in Greek newspaper, Ta Nea.

    Paul Cartledge writes: 'The 5th-century BC artefacts were brought to London by Lord Elgin at the beginning of the 19th century, having apparently secured permission from the ruler of the Ottoman Empire, which occupied Greece at that time. They have been housed at the British Museum from 1816, and the Greek government has regularly lobbied for their return. Corbyn told the Greek paper: ‘As with anything stolen or taken from occupied or colonial possession – including artefacts looted from other countries in the past – we should be engaged in constructive talks with the Greek government about returning the sculptures.’ To read the full article in Frieze, follow the link here.

    Support from Labour MP's saw two prominent Ministers at the heart of BCRPM's capaigns in the 90's and beyond, namely Christopher Price and Eddie O'Hara, respectively Vice-Chair and Chair of this committee. Support has always been there yet Tony Blair's government didn't do anything and tragically, there was no support from Gordon Brown.

    Jeremy Corbyn was and continues to be supportive. And what of Sir Kier Starmer? 

    Jo_Stevens.jpg

    Labour Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, Jo Stevens spoke about the sculptures alongside a panel hosted by the BBC on Politics Live. This was  post Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis' London visit and meeting with UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.

    Catherine_West.jpg

    Labour MP for Hornsey & Wood Green and Shadow Foreign Minister (Europe & Americas), Catherine West also interviewed by Ta Nea on Thursday 02 December, was quoted as urging Prime Minister Boris Johnson to bring the matter of these sculptures to the House Commons. Catherine West feels that all MP's deserve to know the full story and have an open discussion.  

    In today's Ta Nea, UK Correspondent Yannis Andritsopoulos has once again interviewed Jeremy Corbyn, a firm supporter for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles. Jeremy Corbyn hopes that Labour leader, Keir Starmer will also add his support.

    “My position has always been that the Parthenon Marbles should be returned to Greece." Despite being a 'wonderful, beautiful' collection of sculptures, Jeremy Corbyn insists that the Parthenon Marbles do not belong in the British Museum and he hopes that the Labour Party will decide to defend this view.

    “Boris Johnson may well be a classicist. He may well love Greece. I love Greece too." Adds Corbyn, and goes on to say that this love of Greece is not the justifucation for keeping the sculptures divided. He continues: "Let's be grown up about this.The idea that it's okay to forcibly remove things is wrong. Cultural artefacts are there for all, but they really belong in the place that they were made and developed in the first place.”

    Chair of BCRPM, Janet Suzman stands by the release issued in 2018 where she concludes: “Nothing will change in relation to the Parthenon marbles until and unless there is a meeting of minds at head of state level between Greece and Britain.” A sentiment that also formed the Decision made at the 22nd session of UNESCO's ICPRCP meeting 27-29 September 2021. 

     

    RECOMMENDATION 22.COM 6

    The Committee,

    Recalling that the issue of the Parthenon Sculptures has been a pending item in the Committee’s Agenda since 1984,

    Acknowledging relevant UNESCO recommendations expressing its continuing concern for a solution to the issue of the Parthenon Sculptures,Recalling that the Acropolis of Athens is an emblematic monument of outstanding universal value, inscribed in the World Heritage List,

    1.Acknowledges the ongoing cooperation between Greece and the United Kingdom on cultural matters and expressesthe wish that it should continue with a view to conclude the ongoing discussions in respect of the reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures;

    2.Notesthat Greece invites the United Kingdom to collaborate with Greece in exhibiting all the Parthenon Sculptures in their respective collections in the Acropolis Museum;

    3.Takes noteof the Acropolis Museum’s invitation to the British Museum in order to advance further collaboration on Parthenon studies; which the British Museum warmly accepted;

    4.Also takes noteof the good progress made by the Acropolis Museum and the British Museum in the collaborative programme of digital scanning of the sculptures of the Parthenon in both museums;

    5.Further acknowledges that an official letter was sent in August 2013 by UNESCO to the United Kingdom government and the British Museum, inviting them to explore the possibility of the United Kingdom agreeing to the procedure foreseen in the Rules of Procedure for Mediation and Conciliation within the framework of the ICPRCP;

    6.Thoughtfully takes note of the fact that, in March 2015, the United Kingdom government and the Trustees of the British Museum informed UNESCO in separate letters respectively that they did not believe that the application of the mediation procedure would substantially carry forward the debate and that they had decided respectfully to decline the request;

    7.Thoughtfully takes note that, following the Committee’s Recommendation 21.COM 7, Greece sent to the United Kingdom an invitation to a bilateral expert meeting in Athens which was not accepted by the United Kingdom;

    8.Expresses concern that the Duveen Gallery of the British Museum is not currently open to the public, due to essential repairs and looks forward to its reopening in due course;

    9.Calls upon Greece and the United Kingdom to intensify their efforts with a view to reaching a satisfactory settlement of this long-standing issue, taking into account its historical, cultural, legal and ethical dimension;


    10.Invites the Director-General to assist in convening the necessary meetings between Greece and the United Kingdom with the aim of reaching a mutually acceptable solution to the issue of the Parthenon Sculptures.

    DECISION 22.COM 61

    The Committee,

    1.Recalling Article 4, paragraphs 1 and 2 of its Statutes,

    2.Noting that the request for the Return of the Parthenon Sculptures is inscribed in its Agenda since 1984,

    3.Recalling its 16 Recommendations on the matter,

    4.Recalling further that the Parthenon is an emblematic monument of outstanding universal value inscribed on the World Heritage List,

    5.Aware of the legitimate and rightful demand of Greece,

    6.Acknowledging that Greece requested the United Kingdom in 2013 to enter into mediation in accordance to the UNESCO Rules of Procedure for Mediation and Conciliation,

    7.Recognizing that the case has an intergovernmental character and, therefore, the obligation to return the Parthenon Sculptures lies squarely on the United Kingdom Government,

    8.Expresses its deep concern that the issue still remains pending;

    9.Expresses further, its disappointment that its respective recommendations have not been observed by the United Kingdom;

    10.Expresses its strong conviction that States involved with return or restitution cases brought before the ICPRCP should make use of the UNESCO Mediation and Conciliation Procedures with a view to their resolution;

    11.Calls on the United Kingdom to reconsider its standand proceed to a bona fide dialogue with Greece on the matter

    George Didaskalou Nikos Stampolodis and Artemis for ICPRCP 28 Sept 

    The presentation by Greece at UNESCO's ICPRCP 22nd Session took place on Wednesday the 28th of September 2021. Greece was represented by the Ministry of Culture by the Secretary General of Culture George Didaskalou, the new General Director of the Acropolis Museum Nikolaos Stampolidis, the Head of the Directorate of Documentation and Protection of Cultural Heritage, and Legal Adviser of the Special Legal Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Artemis Papathanassiou (all pictured above). For the first time, apart from the recommendation, a decision with stronger wording was also agreed.

  • Culture and conflict often coexist in an uneasy and paradoxical manner; culture being an essential part of conflict and conflict resolution. Culture makes people understand each other better. Conflict resolution acts as a healing balm providing interaction between the concerned parties and the hope to overcome barriers.

    Taking away and damaging the cultural heritage of a society is tampering with its identity. The history of art looting is lengthy and continuous. It begins possibly with Jason and the Argonauts looting the Golden Fleece. It continues with the habit of the Romans of looting art from conquered cities in order to parade it through the streets of Rome, before putting it on display in the forum. In Byzantium, the Hippodrome was adorned with looted art, and during the Fourth Crusade in 1204 the Crusaders looted the city itself. Cultural spoils were taken back to Venice to adorn the cathedral of St Mark, among them, the four gilded horses of the Apocalypse that remain in the city to this day.

    In the ancient world, cultural pillage was an act of state planned to demonstrate the supremacy of the conqueror and underline the humiliation of the defeated. By the nineteenth century, however, such actions had been joined by the claim of the acquiring country to be the true heir of Classical civilization. Thus, Napoleon’s victorious armies began concluding a series of treaties with conquered states across Europe that allowed them to usurp artworks to stock the Louvre Museum.

    From the colonial era to the Second World War, wars have provided opportunities for art looting on a massive scale, and the restitution of stolen cultural artefacts remains a dispute around the world. The trafficking of stolen art has become as widespread as drugs and firearms.

    Private looting has always occurred alongside with state sponsored plundering, although it has evoked more disapprobation. The vandalism of the Parthenon sculptures by Thomas Bruce, seventh earl of Elgin, British Ambassador to the Ottoman court is the most notorious one and remains the archetypal case of looted artworks repatriation demand for more than 200 years.

    acropolis roof

    Since the second half of the 20th century, states have adopted legislative instruments to regulate the illicit trafficking and the return of improperly removed cultural objects as part of a wider effort to enhance the protection of cultural heritage.

    Restitution of cultural objects unethically removed from their countries of origin is a today’s global question. Cases concerning the circulation of cultural property are increasingly settled through diplomatic relationships. Museums are institutions representing reconciliation and as such, they have the duty to act ethically.

    Antiquities of particular importance to humanity that were removed from the territory of a State in a questionable manner in terms of legality, as well as in an onerous way, need to be returned on the basis of fundamental principles enclosed in international conventions irrespective of time limits or other restrictions. They also need to be returned on the basis of legal principles, customary rules, and ethics. This need is also dictated by increased ecumenical interest for the integrity of the monument to be restored in its historic, cultural, and natural environment. Nobody may fully appreciate these antiquities outside their context. A characteristic example in this respect is the Parthenon Sculptures.

    Lord Elgin was a fatal figure in the history of the looting of Greek antiquities. In 1799, he was appointed British Ambassador to the Sublime Porte at Constantinople. A year earlier, Napoleon had invaded Ottoman Egypt, and Britain hoped to become the sultan’s main ally in reversing the French conquest. The dispatch from London of a well-connected diplomat descended from the kings of Scotland who had previously served as a British envoy in Brussels and Berlin was itself a gesture of friendship toward the Turks.

    elgin

    As well as competing in geopolitics, the British were rivalling French for access to whatever remained of the great civilizations of antiquity. Elgin seizes the opportunity for personal gain to acquire a huge collection of antiquities. His attention was focused primarily on the monuments on the Acropolis (the Parthenon topmost) which were very difficult of access and from which no one ever had been granted permission to remove sculptures.

    His marriage to a wealthy heiress, Mary Nisbet, had given him the financial means to sponsor ambitious cultural projects. While traveling through Europe en route to Constantinople, he recruited a team of mostly Italian artists led by the Neapolitan painter Giovanni-Battista Lusieri.

    Their initial task was to draw, document and mould antiquities in the Ottoman-controlled territory of Greece. The initially cloudy mission of Elgin’s artistic team culminated in a massive campaign to dismantle artworks from the temples on the Acropolis and transport them to Britain. By using methods of bribery and fraud, Elgin persuaded the Turkish dignitaries in Athens to turn a blind eye while his team removed those parts of the Parthenon, they particularly liked.

    parthenon and lowering of frieze

    Elgin never acquired the permission to remove the sculptural and architectural decoration of the monument by the authority of the Sultan himself, who alone could have issued such a permit. He simply made use of a friendly letter from the Kaimakam, a Turkish officer, who at the time was replacing the Grand Vizier in Constantinople. This letter, handed out unofficially as a favour, could only urge the Turkish authorities in Athens to allow Elgin's men to make drawings, take casts and conduct excavations around the foundations of the Parthenon, with the condition that no harm be caused to the monuments.

    On 31 July 1801, the first of the high-standing sculptures was hauled down. Between 1801 and 1804, Elgin's team was active on the Acropolis, stripping, hacking off causing considerable damage to the sculptures and the monument. Eventually Elgin’s team detached half of the remaining sculpted decoration of the Parthenon, together with certain architectural members such as a capital, a column drum and one of the six caryatids that adorned the Erechtheion temple, as they could not found an available ship to take all six away! “I have been obliged to be a little barbarous,” Lusieri once wrote to Elgin.

    Dodwell sketh acropolis 1821

    London and Athens now hold dismembered pieces of many of the sculptures. Large sections of the Parthenon frieze, an extraordinary series of relief sculptures depicting the procession of Greater Panathenaia, the most important festival held in honour of the city’s divine patroness Athena, numbered among the loot.

    frieze snip

    Of the 97 surviving blocks of the Parthenon frieze, 56 have been removed to Britain and 40 are in Athens. Of the 64 surviving metopes, 48 are in Athens and 15 have been taken to London. Of the 28 preserved figures of the pediments, 19 have been removed to London and 9 are in Athens.

    The shipping of these precious antiquities to Britain was fraught with difficulties. One ship sank and the sculptures, after prolonged exposure to the damp in various harbours, eventually arrived in England three years later. In London, they were shifted from sheds to warehouses, because Elgin had been reduced to such penury by the enormous costs of wages, transportation, gifts and bribes to the Turks, that he was unable to accommodate them in his own house. So, after the mortgaging of the collection by the British state, he was obliged to sell the Parthenon Sculptures to the government, for £35,000—less than half of what Elgin claimed to have spent. Finally, the British Government transferred the Sculptures to the British Museum in 1817. In 1962, they were placed at the Duveen Gallery. Even after they arrived at the British Museum, the sculptures received imperfect care. In 1938, for example, they were “cleaned” with an acid solution.

    Prior to the transaction a Committee was appointed to consider the purchase and the evidence, it gathered was placed before Parliament. A debate took place, where many voices expressed their scepticism and disapproval. Even thoughts about the return of the Marbles were expressed for the very first time. Hugh Hammersley, a Member of Parliament, first raised the question in the House of Commons. Strenuous objections were heard outside Parliament as well, the most impassioned being that of Lord Byron, a poet and fellow member of the Anglo-Scottish aristocracy. Elgin was denounced as a vandal in sonorous verses by Lord Byron.

    Contrary to Elgin’s stated fears, the sculptures that remained in Athens did not vanish. After 1833, when the Ottomans left the Acropolis and handed it to the new nation of Greece, the great citadel and its monuments became a focus of national pride. Protecting, restoring and showcasing the legacy of the Athenian golden age has been the highest priority for Greeks since then.

    The removal of the so-called Elgin Marbles has long been described as an egregious act of imperial plunder.

    Not surprisingly, the British Museum has so far refused all requests to give up one of its most popular exhibits. The Parthenon sculptures have become the most visible, and notorious, collection of Acropolis artifacts still housed in museums across Europe, often with the justification that such objects are emblematic of European civilization, not just of Greek heritage.

    The British Museum relies on the supposed legality of an Act of Parliament. The Trustees shelter behind the argument that it is the law – that they are entrusted with these artefacts and cannot divest themselves of them. In reality, as the late Eddie O’Hara, former MP and Chairman of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles (BCRPM) stated, “the government simply needs to legislate to say ‘yes, this is possible.’ – as they did with Nazi loot.”

    01 eddie

    Even this most difficult of disputes can be resolved with the support of both Museum of Trustees and the UK Government by amending the 1963 Act or by enacting separate legislation. An Act of Parliament could be an Act of Conscience! As Janet Suzman, Chair for the BCRPM declared, the Trustees of the British Museum must get their heads together and break the shackles preventing the just return of Greece’s precious heritage to Athens.

    janet200

    Today, the defenders of keeping the Parthenon Sculptures in the U.K. are looking increasingly lonely. A particularly important development in the long-running request marks both the transformation of British public opinion and the changing trend of museums for the repatriation of cultural treasures, together with the eloquent request for reunification by Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, submitted to his counterpart, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, during his visit in London last November.

    mitsotakis and boris

    Even, The Times, the flagship newspaper of the British establishment, made a historic turn to support the reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures: "Τhey belong to Athens, they must be returned”. The main article of The Times, in an unprecedented fashion, stating that it is like taking Hamlet out of the First Sheet of Shakespeare’s works and saying that both can still exist separately, recognizes the uniqueness of the Parthenon Sculptures!

    This support for Greece's request is welcomed by all those that have reinforced the diplomatic route for the reunification of the sculptures, applying constant and methodical pressure and garnering assistance from the international community. It was preceded by the unanimous decision of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Commission for the Return of Cultural Property to Countries of Origin (ICPRCP), which at its 22nd Session on 29th September 2021, adopted for the first time, in addition to the usual recommendation, a text focusing exclusively on the return of Parthenon sculptures. This new text, acknowledging the intergovernmental nature of the subject, was in direct contrast to the British side, which has consistently argued that the case concerns the British Museum. The Commission calls on the United Kingdom to reconsider its position and hold talks with Greece.*

    *quotation of the text presented by the Greek delegation to UNESCO's ICPRCP.

    Last week, the Μuseum’s chairman George Osborne said: "I think there is a deal to be done – whereby the marbles could be shown in both Athens and London, and as long as there weren’t “a load of preconditions” or a “load of red lines”. Since then, a number of British Lawmakers have also voiced their support for the return of the marbles, and a group of scholars and advocates of the sculptures ‘demonstrated', at the British Museum on the occasion of the 13th birthday of the Acropolis Museum.

    The Acropolis Museum’s director general, Professor Nikos Stampolidis, responded with a statement, in which he described the Parthenon Sculptures as representing a procession that symbolized Athenian democracy. “The violent removal of half of the frieze from the Parthenon can be conceived, in reality, as setting apart, dividing and uprooting half of the participants in an actual procession, and holding them captive in a foreign land,” Prof. Stampolidis said. “It consists of the depredation, the interruption, the division and dereliction of the idea of democracy. The question arises: Who owns the ‘captives?’ “The museum where they are imprisoned, or the place where they were born?”

    Nikos Stampolidis at AM from To Vima article

    A precursor to the return is the agreement between Italy and Greece. The “Fagan fragment” of the Goddess Artemis, became the first permanently repatriated marble fragment of the sculptures to be restored on the Parthenon frieze, from the Antonino Salinas Regional Archaeology Museum in Palermo, on June 4. It was taken at the same time as the forceful removal of the Parthenon Sculptures by Lord Elgin, and later sold to the University of Palermo.

    fragment palermo

    Meanwhile European governments are rushing to announce policies to return cultural goods to their countries of origin. France returned 26 items, 16th and 17th century bronze art pieces, of unparalleled art to Benin last October, and Germany announced that it would return to Nigeria, the spoils of Benin. In April, Glasgow city council voted to return 17 Benin bronze artefacts looted in West Africa in the 19th century. The Belgian government as well, has agreed to transfer ownership of stolen items from its museums to African countries of origin. Lately, the Plenary Session of the 76th UN General Assembly adopted the decision promoted by Greece for the return of cultural goods to their countries of origin.

    Since regaining independence in 1832, successive Greek governments have petitioned for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures. Melina Mercouri, Greek minister of Culture, reenergized the repatriation campaign, by making a request in 1982 for the Greek government to return the Parthenon Sculptures to the UNESCO General Conference on Cultural Policy in Mexico.

    melina

    The new Acropolis Museum of Athens, which opened in 2009, was built within sight of the actual Parthenon with the goal of eventually housing all the surviving elements of the Parthenon frieze. The Museum’s magnificent glass gallery, bathed in Greek sunlight and offering a clear view of the Parthenon, is the perfect place to reintegrate the frieze and allow visitors to ponder its meaning.

    parthenon gallery

    Greece's constant demand for the reunification of the stolen Parthenon Sculptures with the mutilated ecumenical monument is a unique case based on respect for cultural identity and the principle of preserving the integrity of world heritage sites.

    As Professor Paul Cartledge, Vice President of BCRPM rightfully said: ‘The key word is ‘Acropolis’. The Parthenon, a UNESCO World Heritage site, derives its significance ultimately from its physical context. A good deal of the original building has miraculously been preserved and in recent times expertly curated. The gap between the Acropolis Museum’s Parthenon display and that in the Duveen Gallery of the British Museum is simply immeasurable. Over and against the alleged claim of legality, there is on our side the overriding claim of ethical probity. Times change, and mores with them.”

    paul

    The United Kingdom can only benefit from the long-awaited gesture, not of generosity, but of justice. The reunification will finally be given its time.

     sophia thessaloniki presentation

     

    sophia thessaloniki presentation 2

    *The article above formed part of a presentation thatSophia Hiniadou Cambanis gave at the Thessaloniki International Conference : “Art communicating conflict resolution: An intercultural dialogue” co-organized by the Municipality of Thessaloniki and the UNESCO Chair “Intercultural Policy for an Active Citizenship and Solidarity” of the University of Macedonia, on June 30th 2022.

    **Sophia Hiniadou Cambanis is Attorney at Law and Cultural Policy & Management Advisor at the Hellenic Parliament

  • 25 November 2021 

    Sometimes fairy tales come true: I never thought to see the stunning coverage given to the Marbles by two leading right-wing newspapers, The Mail and The Telegraph. But see how one can be so wrongfooted: The Mail quotes the Greek Prime Minister’s eloquent case for the return in full, and the Telegraph offers a huge, unmissable, two-page spread offering the pros and cons of a return.

    The tall dark and handsome stranger has ridden into the enemy camp bearing a white flag of peace and bounty; PM Mitsotakis covers every relevant point about the continuing stubborn possession by the British of the world’s finest pieces of ancient sculpture, while appealing warmly to the better nature of the man in No 10. Neither he nor the nation knows whether that man even has a better nature, but we must hope that he has.

    A good sign - albeit a tiny one - is that PM Johnson told PM Mitsotakis that it is not a governmental issue but one for the British Museum to attend to. This is nonsense because it is indeed an inter-governmental issue, but it at once moves the matter to a more arms length distance from his office. Hopefully it even might allow Johnson’s entitled heart to become assailed by thoughts of a more classical nature while he properly assesses Greece’s just case and gives the green light to grown-up debates and discussions, and eventually to the repeal of certain Acts.

    The time has come for the British and its fabulous Museum to return what was sneakily taken from an occupied country two hundred years ago. The behaviour of Elgin and his henchmen is not divulged to the public who come to admire these figures; the BM avers they were ‘legally acquired’ and leaves it at that. It does not recount to the visitor the briberies and corruptions over many years that Elgin indulged in. Nor does it tell of the brutally rough choppings and sawings of pieces of magnificence from the building the figures adorned. The sense of British fair play surely cannot be dead? If the public were told the full story they could not possibly approve.

    Recent polls suggest public opinion is growing in favour of return, due largely to a greater historical awareness of colonial misdemeanours and a questioning of a dead empire’s right to imagine itself unassailably in the right. The BM is behind the curve on this. It has a reputation to save and must go about saving it right now.

    I cannot think of a single argument in favour of keeping the legacy of Greece locked in Bloomsbury, and certainly not the one of a precedent which could lead to the emptying of museums worldwide. There’s no sign of a deluge of requests. Certain things must be returned and that’s that; Benin will be celebrating long before Athens. The millions of other objects which delight and educate will stay where they are.

    I was told by the former President of Greece, a government ago, that Greece only wants what was taken unlawfully by Elgin from the Parthenon, and is in fact happy that many museums possess prized parts of classical Greece. The BM has other rooms chocca with Greek treasures, but in return for those still sitting in Room 18, we could gaze on loans that have never before left Greece. Who does not wish to gaze on the golden face of Agamemnon, and other Mycenean treasures? Me for one. You?


    Dame Janet Suzman
    Chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles (BCRPM)

    This was also published in eKathimerini

  • In The Times on Saturday 27 March 2021, Oliver Dowden, was interviewed by David Sanderson, Arts Correspondent. In the interview Oliver Dowden was keen for the cultural world to reopen and shares similar views with Prime Minister Johnson with regards to the cultural treasures held by British Museums such as the 'Elgin' Marbles and Benin Bronzes. Johnson told Greek newspaper, Ta Nea, this month that the government’s “firm longstanding position on the [Parthenon] sculptures is that they were legally acquired by Lord Elgin under the appropriate laws of the time."

    Dowden is quoted as adding: “Once you start pulling on this thread where do you actually end up? Would we insist on having the Bayeux Tapestry back? American institutions are packed full of British artefacts. Japan has loads of Chinese and Korean artefacts. There is an exceptionally high bar for this . . . because I just don’t see where it ends. You go down a rabbit hole and tie up our institutions. I think it is just impossible to go back and disentangle all these things."

    Dowden said that while he loved the Benin Bronzes, he had “never related that much to the Parthenon Sculptures” until the museum’s director, Hartwig Fischer, “showed me around and told me the story in wonderful depth, revealing a whole different level of the artistry which I found really inspiring”. He added: “Would they have survived the Nazis rampaging through Athens during World War II. It is a slightly trite argument but there is a truth. Would the Benin Bronzes have survived various international conflicts?”

    To read the full article, kindly visit The Times link here

    Oliver Dowden's remarks sparked reactions from BCRPM's members, although many also felt that the Minister's comments were so poorly thought out it would be best not to comment at all. BCRPM member, Professor John Tasioulas, took to Twitter:

    twitter Tasioulas

     

    Further to the article in The Times on Saturday with Oliver Dowden, Greek Minister of Clture and Sport, Dr Lina Mendoni’s statement can be read below:

     "Yesterday's statements by the British Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden underline the fact that the arguments used to justify the retention of the Parthenon Sculptures in London, are threadbare. Dowden, having nothing else to say, revives the argument of the so-called phenomenon of "the floodgates for mass returns of antiquities" from Museums around the world to their countries of origin. This is a non-existent argument, given that only one request is pending before UNESCO's Special Intergovernmental Committee at the moment: Greece's request for the reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures, tabled in 1984. So where are the massive demands of the Member States?

    The British Minister of Culture is attempting to downplay the value of the Parthenon's unique architectural sculptures by comparing the Greek request with other claims. Greece claims only the dismembered forms of the frieze, the metopes and the pediments of the monument - a symbol of Western civilization - which were violently removed from the monument and the land of their birth. Greece claims only the Parthenon Sculptures in order to reunite entirety  the surviving sculptural components of the Parthenon, therby restoring the integrity of this outstanding monument.

    As for the argument that Elgin supposedly rescued the Sculptures – since they could have been destroyed by others, if they had not been stolen by the noble Lord – we will remind Mr. Dowden of what one of his compatriots carved on the Acropolis at the time of the violent theft: "quod non fecerunt Gothi, hoc fecerunt Scoti" (what the Goths did not do, the Scots did )..."

    mendoni 2

    In today's Ta Nea, UK Correspondent Yannis Andritsopoulos, writes that the response from Minister Mendoni to Oliver Dowden was baked by Janet Suzman, Chair of BCRPM and at the same time a letter has been sent to Prime Minister Johnsonby IOCARPM (the first Committee to be founded for the campaign to reunite the Parthenon Marbles), members of the International Association. The letter signed by Founder and Chair Emanuel John Comino and Secretary, Russell Darnley, can also be read in full here.

    Janet's full statement:

    "That Dowden could not relate to the Parthenon Marbles says more about Dowden than it does about these peerless sculptures. He should consider himself lucky to have had a private tutorial from Dr Fischer. Perhaps Fischer could oblige with personal tutorials for everyone and spend less time spouting truisms about the ‘creative act’ that separates these figures from their peers in Athens and which is nothing more than self-justifying piffle. It is not a creative act to have them apart, it is the opposite, and two hundred years of separation is enough. They have done their job by now, of inspiring the Western world and should go home, where context will give them what is sadly lacking in the grey of Bloomsbury."

    To read  the Ta Nea article on line, please visit https://www.tanea.gr/print/2021/03/29/lifearts/voles-gia-ta-glypta-apo-ellada-vretania-kai-aystralia/

    Ta Nea 29 March 2021 coverTa Nea middle spead

     

  •  

    A BCRPM letter was delivered to Nicholas Cullinan, the British Museum's new Director on 15 June by BCRPM campaigners and friends. The choice of the 15th was significant as this June, the Acropolis Museum celebrated its 15th anniversary.

    Alexandros and David were inspired to cover the remonstration at the British Museum as this cause is very close to both their hearts, and  they were with us also in 2022. We look forward to their continued involvement with the movement going forward.

    Below a link to the video that Alexandros and David artfully put together. It features interviews with Dame Janet Suzman and Victoria Hislop and a narrative of the events by Alexandros.  

    "This campaign is contingent on public awareness, which in turn is raised through high-profile endorsements and large amounts of content being created on the topic. With this in mind, David and I are very excited to also submit a review on the current debate surrounding the campaign to reunify the Parthenon Marbles." wrote Alexandros post the 15th of June.

    Watch: Talking Parthenon Marbles with Dame Janet Suzman and Victoria Hislop.

        

    Alexandros Lees: Alexandros is a British-Greek lawyer who first studied the Parthenon Marbles during his Law degree at the London School of Economics. Alexandros’ Greek heritage, legal training, and interest in cultural property give him a unique passion for repatriation.

    David Pinto: David Pinto is a Franco-American journalist, documentarian, and presidential campaign aide. A recent alum of Brown University, he earned a double bachelors degree in History and Film Studies. As a specialist in both international affairs and ancient history, David uses filmmaking to cover cultural property disputes.

    Next steps: Alexandros and David are currently writing a thinkpiece on the prospects of repatriation, focussing on the effects of a Labour Government, increasing international support for repatriation, and growing public awareness of the cause. The article will feature interviews with prominent figures involved in the debate.

  • Ta Nea, 01 August 2020

    UK correspondent for Ta Nea, Yannis Andritsopoulos wrote on Saturday 01 August 2020:

    A new chapter in the campaign for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures will start next week, aimed at raising awareness of the public opinion and mobilizing politicians, organizations and public figures in the UK.

    The main slogan of the campaign, run by the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, is "Tell the real story", with the BCRPM inviting the British Museum to reveal to its visitors the truth about how the sculptures, displayed in London since 1817, were acquired.

    “We urge the British Museum to tell the full story as Greece is preparing to celebrate 200 years of independence. The Parthenon Marbles were removed by Lord Elgin when Greece could not speak out. Reuniting the surviving sculptures from the Parthenon would be a friendly and just act by a nation looking to take the lead in responding to global challenges,” Dame Janet Suzman, Chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, told Ta Nea newspaper.

    The BCRPM is made up of respected British scholars, academics and artists, such as Emeritus Professor of Late Antique and Byzantine Studies Judith Herrin, fellow of the British Academy Professor Oliver Taplin and archaeologist Anthony Snodgrass.

    “The Parthenon Marbles in the British Museum (since 1817) are a, perhaps the classic illustration of the colonialist-imperialist complex that so disfigures that august collection today. The large fortune acquired by the Museum’s founding collector and benefactor, Dr Hans Sloane, was itself deeply mired in the slave trade, and Lord Elgin, ambassador to the Sublime Porte, was able to loot the Parthenon marbles only thanks to Britain’s being an enemy of the Ottoman Sultan’s enemy, Napoleonic France, at a time when Greece was a possession of the Ottoman Empire. Next March 25, 2021, will mark the bicentenary of the Greeks’ declaration of independence from the Ottoman yoke after a subjection of nearly 37 decades. Is it too much to hope that it will also mark a significant moment in the decolonisation of the British Museum” said Professor Paul Cartledge, A.G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture emeritus, University of Cambridge, Vice-Chair of the BCRPM.

    Paul plus quote

    The BCRPM has produced a leaflet aimed at deconstructing the British Museum's arguments which are included in a leaflet distributed to visitors of Room 18 - also known as the Duveen Gallery - which houses the Sculptures. It says that this leaflet contains "inaccuracies and untruths" (the Museum goes so far as to claim that the Greek authorities completed Elgin's work because they transferred the Sculptures to the Acropolis Museum!).

    Therefore, the BCRPM produced its own leaflet which contains the "true story" of the Parthenon Sculptures. It will soon send it to the British government, political parties and MPs, trustees of the British Museum and the British media. In addition, on specific dates in the fall, activists will distribute the booklet to British Museum visitors.

    The campaign, which will unfold in the coming months, accompanied by the hashtags #TellTheStory, #TimeIsNow and #BMJustDoIt, is dedicated to the inspirers of the campaign in Britain, Eleni and James Cubitt, who had been urged to launch it by Melina Mercouri.

    "Lusieri, the artist hired by Lord Elgin, literally demolished the temple so that he could extract the Sculptures," Robert Browning, a professor of Classics at the University of London and first Chair of the BCRPM, said on April 16, 1983, interviewed by Hara Kiosse for Ta Nea.

    "That is why, when I hear that Elgin took the marbles so that they do not end up becoming quicklime in the hands of the Greeks, or that the British Museum keeps them because they are in danger due to air pollution of Athens, I feel that what they say is sacrilege."

    Thirty-seven years on, the Museum still houses Pheidias's masterpieces, with its spokesperson telling Ta Nea that "the possibility of their permanent return is not being considered" and Marlen Godwin, the BCRPM's International Relations Officer, responding: "We will not give up. We will continue to call for the reunification of the Sculptures. Until then, we call on the Museum to reveal the truth to those who visit it to see the Marbles. That's the least it can do. "

    Main points of the leaflet here.

    TA NEA today small

    ta nea 01 August 2020 small

    Ta Nea, 01 August 2020

     

  • 01 April 2023

    The Marbles - Panel Discussion

    Join David Wilkinson, director of forthcoming documentary The Marbles, and an expert panel to discuss the story of the Parthenon Marbles.

    By Greenlit

    When and where, date and time: Saturday, 01 April,  5 - 6pm BST, o
    nline.

    To read more about David's documentary film, follow the link here.

     

    Janet and David

     

© 2022 British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles. All Rights Reserved.