The great antiquities debate! But will sending treasures home leave our museums empty? Asks Simon de Bruxelles, writing for the Express.
British museums are increasingly repatriating objects to their home countries amid a debate over ownership. If you are concerned that display cases will be left empty, don’t be. For every item removed there are dozens, sometimes hundreds, that have never made it out of the storeroom. Dan Hicks, author of the newly published study, Every Monument Must Fall, says attitudes have recently begun to change dramatically.
"No one sensible is suggesting that this conversation is about returning everything. It’s case by case. In the UK we have the problem of the national museums which are not allowed to return objects, but the majority of items are in 30 to 40 regional collections around the country.” Commented Professor Dan Hicks.
Parthenon Marbles:
"There is a case for the return of the sculptures to Athens where they began life 2,500 years ago. They were removed by Thomas Bruce the 7th Earl of Elgin who claimed to have acquired them from Greece’s Ottoman overlords. However no permit has ever been found in the archives of the Ottoman empire and the stories told by Bruce and his agents to subsequent parliamentary enquiries were confused and contradictory.
Bruce sold the marbles to the British Museum in 1816 to get himself out of a financial hole. The Elgin Marbles, as they formally became known, have been a star attraction for 200 years – filling a purpose built gallery and enchanting visitors. A deal is supposed to have been done between Labour and Greece’s new government but nothing has been announced and they are still in the leaky gallery. While the gallery is being rebuilt in the next few years, they will move to a temporary new home and this may be the time to relocate them for good. Whether that will be to London or Athens or a combination of the two is anyone’s guess." Concludes .Simon de Bruxelles.
Letter sent to the Express:
I was personally assured by the former President of the Hellenic Republic that Greece is not asking for any other sculpture of Greek antiquity in any other museum in the world, other than those specific ones stolen by Lord Elgin from the Parthenon. There should be no fear of empty museums!
Yours sincerely,
Janet Suzman DBE, Chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles (BCRPM)
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