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.

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, Palermo and 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. 

The Figurine: When Beauty Inspires Crime

Victoria Hislop in conversation with David Wills at The Hellenic Centre, Marylebone

Tuesday 14^th May, 2024

This was the first time I’ve attended the Hellenic Centre for a Marbles-adjacent event since BCRPM’s International Colloquy in 2012, though I do come here for the odd concert and my weekly language classes. 12 years ago, we heard the late human rights advocate George Bizos speak; on Tuesday there was a literary bent, before an audience ready to hear best-selling author (and BCRPM member) Victoria Hislop open up about her new novel The Figurine. At the top of the agenda were the places – namely, Athens and the Cyclades – and the crimes – cultural trafficking – that inspired it, in conversation with David Wills from the Society for Modern Greek Studies.

The Figurine is set in Athens, flitting back and forth between the present day and the narrator’s memories of a 1970s childhood under the colonels, and the fictional island of Nisos (“I thought, if I can teach somebody just one word of Greek that way, I would”), where she joins an archaeological dig. On said dig, she begins to wonder about the provenance of the collection of antiquities in her grandfather’s Athenian apartment. Victoria explained how her philhellenism had its origins in Twentieth century Greece, admitting to having had little interest in its ancient archaeology. However, that was before seeing a Cycladic statuette in a museum a decade ago, and it was the ascetic simplicity  of the folded-arm figurine that caused a “sudden and unexpected inspiration”.

We were among friends (literally, in the Friends’ Room) at the Hellenic Centre, with the Q&A revealing a healthy mix of literary types and philhellenes in the audience. Nevertheless, it felt positively luxurious to hear Victoria, even with her new book to plug, devote nearly half her allotted 45 minutes to the Parthenon Marbles. Rather than make a precis, I’ll let her speak for herself on navigating the past, the virtues of artistic licence, and Thomas Bruce, 7^th Earl of Elgin.

“This book is a metaphor for removal and exploitation. Stolen things still turn up – and vague provenances conceal a lot. If you’re a purist, where do these things belong? Where something belongs is where it was meant to be, where it was born. In The Figurine, a Cycladic figurine was taken from a grave. For these characters [the inhabitants of Nisos], it’s not the theft or the current owner that matters, it’s the removal from the grave [that’s the original crime].

“I enjoy writing fictional characters to explore what might happen in the real world. Elgin couldn’t be a character. That’s a line I can’t cross – and I need to like the protagonist! Every now and then [in the book] Elgin does get a mention. A character sees a classical sort-of temple in Edinburgh and feels that’s the wrong environ in which to see that sort of thing. But I don’t want to hit people over the head with [the debate], because I believe it will happen. There’s a wave of worldwide opinion about where artefacts should be. The British [Museum] are like King Canute on the beach. We’re alone in so many attitudes in the UK and this is one of them. It fuel[s] my passion in archaeological theft. Elgin’s removal was theft. The BM is lackadaisical with the facts of the removal. He didn’t intend the sculptures for public consumption, but for his mansion.”

Victoria acknowledged the legacy of non-fiction historical books about cultural trafficking, “the ones that often read like adventure novels”, but also highlighted the humanitarian problems that often accompany theft and trade, not to mention the association with drug trafficking. I was reminded of UNESCO’s Conference on Cultural Traffic held in Olympia in 2014, which I attended alongside former BCRPM Chair Eddie O’Hara. To hear him speak on the Marbles back then, alongside presentations by archaeologists, curators, and diplomats trying to protect the antiquities in their care from upheavals like the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 vividly cast their removal to Britain in a contemporary light.

When, during Victoria’s eloquent synthesis of the problems with the Elgin narrative and the responsibilities of the novelist, David Wills pointed out that writers must often negotiate different versions of the past at once. The author stressed  the importance of dealing in facts, “and there are a lot of facts in this case. We can’t carry on being one of the few to ignore the theft, the illegal acquisition, or the bigger story those sculptures can be part of. You get conflicting reports and views [from historical sources], so you read different versions of the same story. Novels allow for bias that you can’t get away with when you’re a historian.”

This can be contrasted with a statement made by Sir Noel Malcolm against Lord Vaizey in last year’s Intelligence Squared debate: that events of the deep past are subject to different judgements and values to those of the present day. Now, we know there’s no changing what’s already occurred. But leaving aside any debate as to whether the early 1800s count as the ‘deep past’, and acknowledging that a fair few BCRPM members are themselves in the business of history, I wonder if a few more people in positions of power could take a pinch of the novelist’s approach, not just to the past, but to the future too: we know that our beloved statues’ continued presence in the British Museum's Room 18 is not a historical inevitability, and that their part in Britain’s story (to borrow the BM’s attitude) so far doesn’t guarantee permanence – they’re part of the once and future legacy of Greece.

Stuart O'Hara, BCRPM member

November is one of those long months, almost at the end of yet another year. It certainly has caused plenty of media frenzy in past years, and this year seems to be no exception.

Our own enthusiasm with regards to the dialogue that has been ongoing between Greece and the UK on the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles was resting on 'British fair play', and Greece's magnanimous gesture of more Greek artefacts not seen outside of Greece to be exhibited at the British Museum, a gesture made over 23 years ago and repeated ever since.

There was concern for George Osborne's suggestion of a 'Parthenon Partnership', exchanges of cultural artefacts with rotating loans that would enable the British Museum to continue to hang onto the sculptures already in Room 18. This 'new' British Museum vision, falling short on the call to reunify the surviving Parthenon Marbles, in the Acropolis Museum. 

This weekend's interview between Laura Kuenssberg and PM Mitsotakis, followed more coverage on Monday, and the cancellation of the meeting with PM Sunak. Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised but what is more of an affront was that PM Sunak suggested PM Mitsotakis meet with Oliver Dowden, the Deputy Prime Minister.

Many of you will remember that for 19 months from Feb 2020 to Sept 2021, Mr Dowden was also Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. There have been so many in that specific post during these past 13 years, that one could be forgiven for not remembering.

The Times interviewed Mr Dowden in March 2021: "Dowden said that while he loved the Benin Bronzes, he had “never related that much to the Parthenon Sculptures". 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?”

Needless to say some of our members took to what was then twitter to express their disappointment at Oliver Dowden's comments.

PM Sunak's decision to cancel his meeting with PM Mitsotakis today, Tuesday 28 November, was made late in the day, and the suggestion that the meeting could take place with Oliver Dowden, a person that two years ago was unaware of how the Greeks safeguarded their artefacts during WWII, was not going to make PM Mitsotakis any happier.

Maggie Dietz's 'November' poem begins with 'Show's over, folks', and the media's coverage of PM Mitsotakis London visit this November simply highlights the regressive stance of the UK with regards to the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles. For now we will continue to hang onto Janet Suzman, our Chair's words: la luta continua.