The Week UK 21.03.2020

Briefing NEWS 11

21 March 2020 THE WEEK

Whyarethemarblessoimportant?
TheParthenon,thetempletoAthena
builtonTheAcropolisofAthensaround
440BC,isregardedastheacmeof
ancientGreekarchitecture,andthe
sculpturesthatonceadorneditassome
ofthegreatestworksofGreekart.They
weredesignedbythesculptorPhidias,
usinglocalPentelicmarble(thoughthey
wereoriginallybrightlypainted).On
thepedimentsalone–thetemple’sgreat
gableends–therewere 5 0statuesof
mythologicalfigures,withAthenaand
Poseidonjostlingforprideofplace.A
friezedepictingaceremonialprocession,
featuring3 80 figuresand 220 animals,
ranroundallfoursidesofthebuilding.
Therewerealso9 2 sculptedpanels,the
metopes.“Menofthefuturewillwonder
atus,asallmendotoday,”saidPericles,
thestatesmanwhocommissionedthem.Hewasright.From
Plutarch toKeatstoRodin, the marbles haveinspiredawe.

HowdidLordElgingetthem?
That’sacontentious issue. ThomasBruce,7thEarlofElgin,
wasaScottisharistocrat appointed asambassador toOttoman
Constantinople in1799.Byhis ownaccount,he wasaloverof art
andantiquitieswho wasconcernedaboutdamagebeingdoneto
the templesofGreeceunderTurkishrule.Heseemstohave been
granted adecree,afirman,givinghimpermissionto“takeaway
somepieces ofstone with oldinscriptions andfigures”–though
theoriginalhasneverbeenfound.Evenassumingthefirmanwas
authentic, Elgininterpretedit liberally. In 1801 ,hismensetabout
dismantlinglarge parts oftheParthenon:15 metopes, depicting
centaursfighting; 247 feetof frieze–justunderhalfitslength;
17 sculpturesfromthepediments; and variousotherpieces.Over
adecade,theywerebrought toBritain,atgreatpersonalexpense
toElgin:itcost him£73,600,around£3.5mintoday’smoney.

WhatwastheresponseinBritain?
Elgin displayedtheminarentedhousein ParkLane,togreat
fanfare.They were, inartisticterms, asensation.Manybelieved
thatElginhadsavedthemarbles from afarworsefate.The
Parthenon hadbeenoccupiedbytheOttomanssincethe15th
century –usedas agarrison, amosqueand agunpowder store.
Ithadbeencatastrophicallydamagedin1687byaVenetian
mortar attack,and thenlooted.After that,thelocalsused itas
aconvenient supplyofstone, grinding down marble forbuilding
materials. Anditistruethat theElgin marbleshave faredmuch
better than the statuary that remained. However,their removal
was always controversial,and many objected atthetime.

Whydidpeopleobject?
Elgi nwas ac cusedof “pillage” and vandalism.EdwardDodwell,
an antiquarianwho hadwitnessed the removal, described it as a
piece of “insensate barbarism”: the reliefs were hackedoff, and
unwanted cornices andpediments “thrown to the ground”.Lord

ByronlamentedinversethatGreecehad

hadits“wallsdefaced”,its“mouldering

shrinesremoved/ByBritishhands”.A

parliamentarycommitteewasestablished

toexaminetheissueand,overcoming

anyqualms,decidedthattheywerebest

given“asylum”inBritain.Theywere

dulyboughtfromElgin–nowfacinga

costlydivorceandontheedgeofbank-

ruptcy–for£35, 000 andgiftedin 1816

inperpetuitytotheBritishMuseum.

WhendidGreeceaskforthem?

Eversinceitgainedindependencefrom

theOttomansin 18 32,successive

governmentshavedemandedthereturn

ofwhattheyregardasoneofGreece’s

greatestnationaltreasures.Thecampaign

wasre-energisedinthe 1980 sbyMelina

Mercouri,theactressturnedGreek

cultureminister.Fordecades,themainargumentagainstthe

returnofthe sculptures wasGreece’s lack ofasuit able location

fortheirdisplay. But in2009,theAcropolisMuseum opened

withinsightof theParthenon.In its impressiveParthenon Gallery,

thepieces Elginleftbehindaredisplayed, alongwithplastercasts

of the sculptureshoused inLondon.And nowBrexithasgiven the

cause anewwind.Greece hasdemandedthatthefollowingclause

be insertedintoanyUK-EUtradedeal :“Thepartiesshould

addressissues relatingtothereturnorrestitutionofunlawfully

removed culturalobjects totheir country oforigin.”

What is theBritish Museum’s position?

Itbelievesthattheyweren’tstolen–thatElgin’s “activities”

were“entirely legal”–and that there isaclear“public benefit”

inhavingtheParthenonsculptures,as theyarenowknown, in

London.Sixmillion visitorscometothe BritishMuseum every

yearfor free;1.5million visitthe AcropolisMuseum,payings 10.

In London,people canseethemin thecontext ofanunparalleled

collectionofobjects fromallaround theworld.The Museum

argues that they don’t reallybelongto anyparticular country:

theyare“partofeveryone’sshared heritage andtranscend

cultural boundaries”.It saysthat itwouldloanthem toAthens,

if theGreekgovernment acknowledged theMuseum’sownership.

Are they likely to be returned?

Thereisno prospectofthat inthe shortterm.But the great

“universal”collections, suchas that oftheBritishMuseum,are

becoming increasingly politicallycontentious. Egypthascalled for

the Rosetta Stonetobereturned;Nigeria,for theBenin bronzes.

The human rightslawyer Geoffrey Robertsonlast yearcalledthe

museum trustees “the world’s largest receivers of stolen property”.

France has begun returning someAfricantreasures taken during

the colonialera.Onthe otherhand, arguably–after200 years –

the Elginmarbles arepartofBritish culturetoo. As the classicist

Mary Beard,theauthor ofabookonthe Parthenon, putsit: “For

me,the Parthenonsculptu res raisesomeof th ebiggest questions

of cult ural property,ownershipand where worksof art ‘belong’.”

The Museum and the marbles

PeoplehavearguedabouttheElgin,orParthenon,marblesforcenturies.AndBrexithasgiventherowanewurgency

“Menofthefuturewillwonderatus”

YES

1.They werestolenfromGreece–or, at th everybest, taken
with the permissionof abrutal imperialoccupi er.
2.They areacrucialpart of Greekculture;keeping them
in Britain betrays an arrogantcolo nial-style mindset.
3.They are best seen in the context of Athens, andtheParthenon,
for which theywere originally made.

NO

1.Elgintook themlegally,andsaved them fromaworse fate; the

BritishMuseum hasowned them andcaredfor them since 1816.

2.The marbles areanimportantpart of world heritage;the

BritishMuseum is uniquelywell-suited to displaythem assuch.

3.Agreeingtoall such demands wouldemptythe world’sgreatest

museums of manyof their most prized artefacts.

Should we send the Elgin marbles home?