TAN The Art Newspaper 23 November 2021

Martin Bailey reports on the classified documents on the sculptures from the Parthenon, compiled in 1991. 

David Miers, became British Ambassador in Athens in 1989 and in 1991 organised a visit to Athens for the then Conservative arts minister Timothy Renton. After this visit, David Miers wrote a report for the Foreign Office which was passed on to the Office of Arts and Libraries (a precursor to the government’s culture department). In this report the UK Ambassador referred to the Parthenon Marbles as an "issue on which we can never win: the best we can do is to keep our heads down as far as possible: and avoid using defensive arguments here in Greece which will sound hollow in Greek ears.”

“For instance I do not think the argument about the trustees of the museum is a very good one for use here. The Greeks know that we could legislate [to allow deaccessioning] if we wanted: the problem for them is that we don’t want [to].” 

A separate letter in the file argues that the Marbles would be safer in London than Athens. A foreign office official wrote that the British government cited “environmental concerns as further reasons for keeping the Marbles in their controlled environment in the British Museum”, in view of “severe air pollution in Athens”.

Then in 2009 the Acropolis Museum opened, and  this year the British Museum has closed Room 18 for maintenance. Reports of the leaking glass roof began in December 2019 and in January and February 2020 heaters where placed in this room whilst in the summer months, the fire exit door was left open for ventilation, underlining the lack of climate controls. This year's closure of Room 18 continues.

During his meeting with Prime Minister Johnson, Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis pointed out that Greece still holds the UK government responsible for the continued presence of the Marbles in the British Museum.

To read the full article, please follow the link here.

Telegraph 26 November 2021

The Telegraph article cites The Art Newspaper article quoting the British Ambassador to Greece, Sir David Miers, admitting that the UK would not win the argument on the division of the Parthenon Marbles between Athens and London.

The Telegraph also picks up on a letter written by Johnson in 2012 when he was Mayor of London, where he admits that the sculptures from the Parthenon "should have never been removed from the Acropolis."

Saturday 27 November 2021, TA NEA

UK Correspondent Yannis Andritsopoulos interviews Denis MacShane and writes about the opportunity to reunite the sculptures when Tony Blair became Prime Minister.

Denis MacShane goes on to add that he'd met up with George Osborne at a recent function and the matter of the sculptures was raised, however George Osborne, just into his position as the new Chair of the British Museum, was 'full of contempt'.

George Osborne as part of the establishment will no doubt feel that he can be dismissive on this issue and follow the well rehearsed example of successive British Museum Directors and Chairs of the Trustees.

When Hartwig Fisher described the continued division of the Parrthenon Marbles as 'creative', the media world exploded, and when Prime Minister Boris Johnson met with Prime Minister Mitsotakis failing yet again to accept the UK governments responsibility, the media world found more letters and documents to prove that this dismissive attitude by the UK Government is not new. And yet times are changing. Where will the UK stand as more museums are doing their best to return artefacts removed from countries of origin where the voice of that nation, at that time, was not to be heard? History doesn't have to be rewritten for old wrongs to be put right, for there are cases when we can do better than just roll out contempt.

George Osborne made his first official speechduring a dinner held at the British Museum by the Trsutee on Wednesday 24 November. And in reading it, one can but conclude that there will be no visionary changes at the British Museum, with the exception of the new Museum in Nigeria to house the Benin Bronzes.This museum is designed by architect David Adjaye.

Chairman of the British Museum, George Osborne announced a new chapter for the British Museum, one that reimagines the museum. A masterplan costing £1 billion, aimed at making the British Museum, "the global museum of common humanity" with more details to be revealed next spring. 

The British Museum is also looking to change the way that it engages with communities whose treasures the museum holds in trust.

In The Times today, George Osborne insisted that the collections would not be permanently broken up, but that “some of our greatest objects” would return to their countries of origin if common ground could be found: “My message is: if you’re ready to find the common ground, then so are we.” The article goes on to highlight that the  "Western sculpture galleries will be transformed, while some of the Greek revival architecture of the building will undergo restoration. George Osborne also promised a programme of rebuilding, and a museum powered by a new energy system to make it “a net zero carbon museum — no longer a destination for climate protest but instead an example of climate solution.”

This follows the unveiling at the Freud Museum on Tuesday of a 3D replica of the chariot horse head, of the goddess Selene. The replica created by the Institute of Digital Archaeology (IDA) was crafted from the same marble that all of the Parthenon sculptures were made. Roger Michel of the IDA hopes that the precision of this replica will sway the BM to support the reunification of the sculptures that have survived, and in so doing, respond to the global community's wishes to view them in the Acropolis Museum.

BCRPM's quote of 2012, continues to hold true today as it did a decade ago: 'the Parthenon Gallery in the Acropolis Museum is the one place on earth where it is possible to have a single and aesthetic experience simultaneously of the Parthenon and its sculptures. It is time for the UK to enter into dialogue with Greece about the terms of, and conditions under, which the return of these sculptures could be facilitated.'

More on the news regarding the refurbishment of the British Museum by Cristina Ruiz in The Art Newspaper from Thursday 03 November and followed on Friday 04 November, by Tessa Solomon in ARTnews.

George Osborne was appointed on Wednesady 24 June 2021 as the new chair of the British Museum and joined the board of trustees, today, Wednesday 01 September. He will, succeed Richard Lambert as chair from 04 October 2021.

The British Museum has added George Osborne's biography on their web site, you can follow the link here to read it. 

A long-time member of the Conservative Party, George Osborne began his political career working on John Major’s 1997 re-election campaign. He was elected as MP for Tatton, Cheshire, in 2001 and was a crucial part of David Cameron’s cabinet during the coalition government of 2010-2015.

After the Brexit referendum, Prime Minister David Cameron stepped down and George Osborne returned to the backbenches under Terresa May’s leadership.

In 2017, he announced he would not stand for re-election in the general election of the same year, and instead moved to journalism, serving as editor of the Evening Standard newspaper until 2020.  He is currently a partner at Robey Warshaw investment bank and chair of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership.

Hartwig Fischer, Director of the British Museum said, “I am very happy to welcome George Osborne as our Chair. George Osborne knows the Museum well and values the trust the Museum enjoys around the world. He understands the active role the British Museum is playing in the recovery of the country, creating opportunities for everyone to discover the collection as their own - onsite, through loans to their local museums and online.

Under the current leadership of Sir Richard Lambert, we have laid the groundwork for the masterplan, to embark on the biggest transformative project in our history, and to renew our displays. Together with my colleagues I look forward to working with George to continue to ensure that the British Museum is the most innovative, accessible and inspiring museum of the world, for the world.”

George Osborne, Incoming Chair of the British Museum said, “I am absolutely thrilled to be joining the team at the British Museum - and so honoured to have had the opportunity to apply for this role, and to have been chosen by the Trustees to become their Chair. All my life I have loved the British Museum. To my mind, it is quite simply the greatest museum in the world. It’s a place that brings cultures together and tells the story of our common humanity. Richard Lambert will be a very hard act to follow, but I look forward to working with Hartwig and the impressive team he leads at the museum. I hope to bring my experience, energy and passion to this incredibly exciting role.”

The British Museum’s Board of Trustees
The Museum’s Board of Trustees comprises up to 25 members. One Trustee is appointed by Her Majesty The Queen, fifteen are appointed by the Prime Minister, and five appointed by the Trustees themselves. The remaining four Trustees are appointed by the Secretary of State for DCMS on the nominations of the presidents of the Royal Academy, the British Academy, the Society of Antiquaries of London, and the Royal Society. The Chair is elected by the Board independent of government.
https://www.britishmuseum.org/about-us/governance

The British Museum
Founded in 1753, the British Museum was the first national public museum in the world. The collection tells the stories of cultures across the world, from the dawn of human history, over two million years ago, to the present. Objects range from the earliest tools made by humans and treasures from the ancient world to more recent acquisitions from Africa, Oceania and the Americas, the Middle East, Asia and Europe, as well as the national collections of prints and drawings, and coins and medals. In addition to work in London, the Museum takes part in an extensive programme of loans, tours and collaborative work, both across the UK and throughout the world.

To read the Museums Association article on George Osborne's appointment follow the link here and the article in the Evening Standard, here

Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni has pledged to ‘fill the void’ at the British Museum should the Parthenon sculptures be reunited with their counterparts in Athens. It’s a brilliant idea.

The Kritios Boy, a masterpiece of ancient Greek marble sculpture, currently stands atop a pedestal in the Acropolis Museum in Athens. For historians he speaks quietly of the transition from the Archaic to the Classical periods in Greek sculpture (as well as having one of the most beautiful derrières in the history of art). He could potentially be among the many extraordinary treasures never previously exhibited in the United Kingdom but which could be seen in London if the British Museum’s trustees were enlightened enough to accommodate Ms Mendoni’s workable solution to the current impasse over the Parthenon Marbles.

Were the British Museum to agree to reunite the sculptures with their counterparts in Athens, Ms Mendoni has promised that Greece would reciprocate by sending rotating loan exhibitions of ancient masterpieces like the Kritios Boy never previously seen by many UK museum-goers. To realise the many cultural and diplomatic benefits of Ms Mendoni’s initiative would require the trustees of the British Museum to expand their vision beyond considerations of ownership and begin a more cooperative relationship with Athens over the future of the Marbles.

The first stage in that process requires the amendment of the British Museum Act of 1963 which currently prohibits the deaccessioning of objects from the Museum’s collections. The British Government’s refusal to even consider such an amendment has two negative consequences. In the first instance, the way the Marbles are currently displayed in Bloomsbury perpetuates a misleading understanding of their historical importance, denying their original significance as part of the Parthenon’s architectural programme. In the Parthenon Galleries of the Acropolis Museum their connection to the monument is clear and deeply moving.

It is the duty of every museum to promote a fact-based understanding of material culture, historical and contemporary. Where the Marbles are concerned, the British Museum is currently failing in that regard.

Secondly, the refusal to amend the 1963 Act deprives the UK’s museum-going public (as well as visiting tourists) of an opportunity to learn more about the art of ancient Greece through new educational displays.

As a scholar of ancient Greek polychrome sculpture, I have visited the Acropolis Museum on numerous occasions, both in its previous romantically ramshackle location on the monument itself, and on many subsequent occasions following the opening of Bernard Tschumi’s superb new Museum at the foot of the Acropolis in 2009. Few other museums in the world are able to offer as coherent an account of the coloured nature of ancient Greek sculpture as the Acropolis Museum.

The superb ‘Colour Revolution’ exhibition currently own show at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford testifies to the enduring public fascination with colour and its impact on art and design in the Victorian era. It also touches briefly on one of the central aesthetic controversies of the nineteenth century — the true coloured nature of ancient sculpture.

The British Museum has been guilty in the past of scrubbing the Parthenon Marbles with wire brushes in a misguided attempt to whiten them. It now has an opportunity to absolve itself of those errors by reopening the conversation with Athens.

The immediate and long-term benefits are obvious for all to see. George Osborne has an opportunity to cement his legacy by persuading his Eton and Oxbridge colleagues in government to revisit the British Museum Act. Mark Jones might also go down in history as more than merely an “interim” director of the Museum but rather the man whose brief custodianship opened a new chapter in museum diplomacy.

Dr Tom Flynn

The headline of Niko Efstathiou's article in Kathimerini, 05 February 2023, post his visit to London took our breath away: 'In London, the return of the Parthenon Sculptures seems all but inevitable'.

For most of us, and not just in Greece and the UK but globally too, this has been a hope that has burned passionately for what seems like forever.

That Niko encountered visitors in the British Museum's Room 18  admiring the fragmented and divided Parthenon Marbles, also saying how they hoped to see them reunited, was nothing new. This has been happening for sometime. More so however since the opening of the superlative Acropolis Museum in June 2009.

"No major news has surfaced in the past few months, since British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s last-minute cancellation of a meeting with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis in late November reinvigorated a decade-old cultural debate. But today, the sentiment in London is that the return of the 2,500-year-old marble sculptures and reliefs is all but inevitable." Writes Niko as he goes on to outline the strong public support, which has also been there for sometime.

The British sense of far-play to the fore: if these sculptures were removed when the country of origin had no voice, we ought to do the right thing, and return them to the country of origin. A sentiment echoed at UNESCO's ICPRCP and translated into recommendations and conclusions to highlight the ever pressing need to find a solution to this, long running, cultural heritage dispute. A dispute that has kept the media writing, and voicing their observations. There has been no end to the coverage for this just cause.  

"In an exercise where legal formulation meets branding, significant efforts are being made by both parties to keep the agreement’s messaging positive, and the wording around ownership vague enough so that both Greece – which regards ownership over the artifacts as key in any potential agreement – and the British Museum – which is restricted by laws, such as the British Museum Act of 1963, that ban the removal of artifacts from its collection – can come to a consensus." Continues Nikos in his article and indeed we reflect on how many times BCRPM's Chairs and Vice-Chairs have urged the UK to consider amending the law. An amendment that was not given the consideration it deserved  because of fear. The fear of  'what else' would be requested and spurious 'floodgates' arguments stopping any sensible progress. Fear by the UK's PMs, and MPs. 

And Nikos goes on to add: "In the meantime, if there is one thing pushing the deal closer towards fruition it is the British Museum’s leadership".  Totally on point, as the British Museum and the UK Government were never keen to engage in dialogue.  Now under the leadership of George Osborne, the British Museum is looking for a 'win-win' long term partnership where cultural artefacts are given maximun mobility, and these peerless sculptures are allowed to travel back to Attica.

We will never forget when one of the sculptures, Ilissos, travelled to St Petersburg, nor can we forget the equally unsupportive reaction of those that hold the British Museum in the highest esteem. It was not, that Director's finest hour, made worse by what hasn't made relations between the West and Russia any better. The annexing of Crimea it seemed was just the begining of a grander scheme to gain more land, and Russia invaded Ukraine on the 24 February 2022. Ilissos' move from London to St Petersburg sparked more support for the reunification of these sculptures, than it did for the relations betweeb Russia and the West.

And so to 2024 and two friendly nations looking to a museum “partnership that requires no one to relinquish their claims.”

"Paradoxically, though the explosive diplomatic spat that took place in November suggested that the current UK government will not back a potential deal, Downing Street’s impulsive reaction may have also triggered a change in British politics. Sunak’s panicked decision to cancel the meeting with Mitsotakis ended up being widely criticized by all sides of the political spectrum, among others by Osborne himself, a former chancellor of the exchequer for a Tory government, who suggested it was a “hissy fit.” Continues to write Niko. Indeed what was PM Sunak thinking?

“I jumped up and down with joy when it happened, because obviously it was a mistake,” recalls Dame Janet Suzman, actress and chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, while detailing to Kathimerini her reaction to Sunak’s controversial snub. “I honestly think it is not something he thought about very deeply, it was a surface reaction in reply to an analogy used by the Greek PM on British TV. But it created a tidal wave of publicity for the return of the sculptures, so we were naturally quite thrilled in our organization.”

British politicians making mistakes, errors in diplomacy and international relations? Did this snub help the request for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles? Our Chair, Janet says yes.

"As much as Greece would like to keep British politics out of any potential agreement, guaranteeing governmental support would make the deal with the British Museum far easier to implement. Herein lies the last factor most probably aligning with Greece’s case – at least very soon. Brits are heading to the polls in less than a year for national elections, and with polls unanimously showing the Tories trailing the Labour Party by unprecedented margins, a change in government seems almost certain. By all accounts, Sunak’s most likely successor, current opposition leader Keir Starmer, will be far more cooperative in the case of the Parthenon Marbles’ reunification." Writes Nikos. And indeed this sentiment was also echoed by Victoria Hislop during her interviews, whilst in Athens for the launch of her latest fictional novel, which was published also in Greek. A book launch that took place at the Acropolis Museum, on Thursday, 25 January.

And PM Mitsotakis' endevour, his mission to reunite the sculptures, a mission he has continued to push on with for nearly two years. “Let me be clear, we will insist on their reunification,” he said in New York.

"And though it is now waiting time, and the exact details of the deal are far from set and still kept away from public scrutiny, it is hard not to see that his vision – once a huge point of contention with Britain – is more likely to materialize than ever before." Concludes Niko Efstathiou.

To read Niko's toughtful article in full, follow the link here.

The Times, 04 December 2021

The Parthenon Gallery in the Acropolis Musem, Athens, Greece.

 George Osborne wrote a Comment piece on page 29 of the Times on Saturday, it was entitled: "It's right to be proud of the British Museum". 

He goes on to ask: "Should we be ashamed of Britain’s past or should we celebrate it?"

He adds: " humans are capable of acts of great kindness and appalling brutality towards one another. The artefacts in the British Museum, with their depictions of love and war, reflect that truth over the course of two million years. It is why they help us understand ourselves better. That was the founding purpose when it was established as the first national public museum of the world in 1753, and it remains the purpose today. It was a product less of the British Empire (which was largely created in the following century) and more of the European Enlightenment."

And he does conceed that much has changed in the last 260 years, praising the 'magnificent Norman Foster roof over the Great Court at the Millennium', which he feels helps the British Museum to confidently call itself “the museum of the world, for the world”.

Although he insists that the British Museum is also 'just a museum', and that it cannot resolve the contractions between the Enlightenment as a western construct and universal human rights, or support those that question the very existence of the British Museum.

"Of course, there are those who demand the return of objects they believe we have no right to hold. That is not new either. Lord Byron thought the Elgin marbles should be back at the Parthenon. Our response is not to be dismissive. We are open to lending our artefacts to anywhere and to who can take good care of them and ensure their safe return — which we do every year, including to Greece."

Sadly he suggests that museums of culture ought not shrink in the face of  'culture wars' - why wars and not cultural cooperation? And that the British Museum needs to tell the story of common humanity. Surely common humanity needs to uphold respect for all countries cultural heritage! 

To read the full article, follow the link to The Times.

UK Ambassador to Greece Matthew Lodge tweeted the link to George Osborne's article in the Times and John Tasioulas, Director, Institute for Ethics in AI, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford and a member of BCRPM, quoted Ambassador Lodge's tweet:

TA NEA, Monday 06 December 2021

Yannis Andritsopulos, UK Correspondent for Ta Nea writes:

Suzman and Cartledge respond to Osborne

Reactions to the statements made by the new Chair of the British Museum on the reunification of the “Elgin Marbles” and their "loan" to Athens

The new Chair of the British Museum, George Osborne, was provocative and uncompromising on the question of the reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures.

A week after the 'Ta Nea' reported that in a conversation former British Minister, Dennis McShane had with George Osborne, the new Chair of the British Museum rejected any talk of a permanent return of the Sculptures, speaking with "contempt" on the subject. Osborne "struck out once more" on Saturday: in an article in  "The Times" where he calls the Parthenon Sculptures "Elgin Marbles" and suggests that Greece discuss the possibility of borrowing them on the condition that Greece could "take good care of them and ensure their return" to London!"

It should be noted that the term "Elgin Marbles" has been officially abandoned by the British Museum for many years. The Museum now uses the name "Parthenon Sculptures", both in the signage of the hall that houses them (closed for a whole year after a water leak from the roof) and on its website.

"Surely there are those who question our right to exist. They did it in 1753, they do it again in 2021. Of course there are those who demand the return of items that they believe we have no right to possess. This is nothing new either. Lord Byron believed that the Elgin Marbles should return to the Parthenon," George  Osborne wrote in the Times.

And attempting to appear "magnanimous," he adds: "Our response will not be dismissive. We are open to lending items in our collection to anyone who can take good care of them and ensures their safe return - something we do every year, including with Greece," he says, ostentatiously ignoring the request for permanent reunification of the sculptures.

In response to Osborne, the Chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Sculptures (BCRPM), Janet Suzmantells 'Ta Nea': "I will remind him that Lord Byron's reputation remains heroic, while that of Lord Elgin is ragged. He cannot present the error as correct in pretending that the return of the Sculptures is a trivial matter. Greece must take them back and place them where they belong: opposite the brightest building in the world from where they were snatched."

Speaking to 'Ta Nea', Cambridge Professor Paul Cartledge, Vice-Chair of the BCRPM noted: "An old joke says: Why is the museum called British, since very few of the 8 miilion objects held by the BM are actually British-made'. Are the exhibits actually British? Is the name, British Imperial War Museum more accurate? The time has come for the Sculptures to return permanently to their home."

This is not the first time that Britain has proposed to lend Greece the Parthenon Sculptures. In the exclusive interview with 'Ta Nea' in January 2019, the director of the British Museum, Hartwig Fischer, said that Greece could borrow the "Marbles" for a limited period of time ("there are no indefinite loans", he explained at that time), but if Greece accepts that they belong to the Britain ("we lend to those who recognize the ownershiop as belonging to the British Museum ").

Almost 15 years earlier, in April 2007, his predecessor Neil McGregor said that lending the "Marbles" "for three months, six months" would be possible if Greece recognized the British Museum as the legal owner.

Essentially, what they are asking of Greece is to give up its claim to the Sculptures, "renouncing" its long-standing position (recently reiterated by Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Lina Mendoni) that they are stolen.

The British Government is demanding the same. In August 2018, in a letter from Culture Minister Jeremy Wright to his Greek counterpart Myrsini Zorba, published by 'Ta Nea', the British minister made it clear that "the museum's commissioners will consider any request for lending and, subsequently, returning any part of the collection, provided that the institution requesting the loan recognises the British Museum as the owner".

As is well known, Greece cannot accept Britain's ownership of the Sculptures, and will not agree to a loan as long as this condition is set.

Osborne was elected Chair of the Museum in the summer and assumed the post in October. After his ministerial tenure (2010-2016) he assumed the duties of director of the newspaper "Evening Standard" and advisor to the capital management giant BlackRock and investment bank Robey Warshaw.

In his article titled "It is right to be proud of the British Museum", he writes that "we do not feel ashamed of the exhibits in our collection" (some of which were controversially acquired during the colonial period and claimed as stolen by various states), since, as he also states, "we remain one of the few places on Earth where you can admire under one roof, the great civilizations of the world."

To read the Ta Nea article online follow the link here. 

A trustee of the British Museum has confirmed the institution is in talks with the Greek government about the disposition of the Parthenon Marbles, but has told Al Jazeera that a deal may be elusive.

“There is certainly movement, but it is being overhyped,” said Mary Beard, professor of classics at Cambridge University and a trustee since 2020.

“I think something is really happening … There have been discussions between [board of trustees chair] George Osborne and [Greek premier] Kyriakos Mitsotakis,” she told Al Jazeera.

“There is real desire to do something. After 200 years, surely we can get somewhere better than where we are,” Beard said. “Is the problem going to be resolved? I’m not sure.”

Read the artucle aptly entitled: "Rumours of Parthenon Marbles’ return ‘overhyped’, experts say"

The British Museum claims Elgin “was granted a permit” to “draw, measure and remove figures”. But critics say he stretched that to remove far more than was intended.

“Among the bribes Elgin is known to have given is 100 pounds to the Kaimacam [district governor] in Constantinople to release the second shipment [of Marbles], and an amount to the Disdar [fortress commander] in Athens equal to 35 times his annual salary. Elgin documented all expenditures because he was financed by his in-laws,” said Elena Korka.

 An Economist survey in 2000 found that two-thirds of British MPs would vote for the Marbles’ return if a motion were tabled.

A Sunday Times survey in August 2022 found that 78 percent of Britons would return the Marbles, and a poll this month by the Evening Standard found a clear majority of 53 percent of Britons favouring their return – more than the majority that voted for Brexit.

“There’s a very important change in the UK in public opinion and individuals who have an opinion on the matter, from the entire political spectrum, who now openly argue in favour of the marbles’ reunification, recognising their uniqueness,” said Mitsotakis.

We would add that public opinion has always favoured the reunification, especially amongst those that were told the whole story about the Parthenon Marbles removal at the start of the 19th century, by Lord Elgin. What has changed is museums around the world entering into talks between on the matter of returns and restitution of artefacts to their countries of origin. Museums are listening to what their publics want to see, and are looking to the future. 

If only..... 

Page 76 of Private Eye Annual 2021, available from booksellers including Waterstones.

Dame Janet Suzman talks to Georgia Economou of NEWS 24/7: "The Parthenon sculptures belong to the country that "gave birth" to them, not to a cold museum in England."

Dame Janet Suzman, Chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles (BCRPM) and an internationally renowned actress talks to the Magazine about the Parthenon Sculptures and their long-suffering plight, plus the campaign to reunite them in the country that "gave birth" to them, their country of origin.

The Parthenon sculptures continue to make headlines in news outlets all over the world, not least in Greece. One could say that Lord Elgin's bribes and the men he paid to  detach these sculptures from the Sacred Rock of the Acropolis, and their subsequent exhibition at the British Museum constitutes to a great cultural wound. Their return, is a great dream that is constantly being dashed even today when the world shows that it is moving forward, and that museum policies are changing, but also that the basic issues of national cultural heritage have now been resolved.

On 16 December,  it was announced, with the "blessing" of Pope Francis, that three fragments, sculptural decorations from the Parthenon, housed in the Vatican museums would be repatriated, "as a testimony and a sign of the desire to continue the ecumenical course of truth."

About a month ago, once again we experienced hope for the sculptures return to Greece. Many expectations were raised in a large part to the announcement made by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis when he visited London, when he also met with King Charles (and not with the new British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak).

THE ELGIN MARBLES AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM (PHOTO: MARKOS CHOUZOURIS / EUROKINISSI)

We learned of secret meetings between the Prime Minister himself and the Director of the British Museum, George Osborne, while newspaper headlines claimed that we were closer than ever to a repatriation agreement. However, everyone's hopes were yet again dashed when Rishi Sunak's official spokesman made it clear that the British Museum is legally prohibited from dismantling its huge collection and that the British government is not considering amending or changing the museum's law.

It was certain that this would happen. That is why a few days ago we spoke with 4 leading researchers about how feasible a repatriation in the true meaning of the term was possible and not a "repatriation" using the model of the Stern collection.

After the publication of this article, we were contacted by the long established British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, as we had made a distinction  between the "British Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures" to which Matthew Taylor belongs. The latter on November 18, in an article published in "The Scotsman" wrote: "Solution for the "Elgins"? How the American multimillionaire Stern created a model for the reunification of the Parthenon sculptures in Athens". In this article he expressed the opinion that "previous negotiations are stuck for the time being on the issue of property. But what if the British Museum recognised ownership of the works in Greece, while retaining the rights to exhibit them for the time being? Surely this could be a big step forward?"

The BCRPM recently referred to a New York Times report and to the statements of Gary Vikan, former director of the Baltimore Museum, who said: "If someone tells me that by sending the "Elgin Marbles" back to Greece, somehow the British Museum will be emptied, it is nonsense."

Janet Suzman AP

We spoke to the Chair of the British Committee and great actress, Dame Janet Suzman, and asked her questions about the reunification of the Marbles. She claims that the reunification of the Marbles is far from clear: "The road remains long and very unclear. We all need to have patience as diplomacy slowly moves towards a solution we hope for," she tells the Magazine.

What made you want to support the case of the Parthenon Sculptures? What does this "struggle" mean to you?

I was born in South Africa and so early on I was "introduced" to the blatant injustice committed by the strongest elements against a weaker opponent. I am talking about apartheid, of course. We who have lived in a police state know these things very well. In the 18th century, Britain was an extremely powerful country, and it took what it could - because it could - from many parts of the world.

As for the "Parthenon Marbles" that Lord Elgin took from Greece as Ambassador to Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empite - the truth is that no written permission to do so ever came to light. Then, as now, people are open to bribery. And so it happened then. The injustice is clear. These sculptures were part of the Parthenon edifice itself. They were forcibly cut off from the monument and removed from the country, and now it is a matter of pure dignity to return them.

To be honest, I hadn't dealt with Greece at all until I left South Africa to study theatre in the UK. With a group of young graduates from the Department of Fine Arts of my University, we flew on a fine day in 1959 from Johannesburg to Europe. I will never forget the morning when, after a long overnight flight, our plane landed in Athens. Back then there was not the current airport, but a much smaller one. We descended the steps of the plane and walking on the asphalt to enter the arrivals building, the strong sunlight made us blink for a moment.

A beautiful blue sky was above our heads. This clarity "stayed" with us every hour and minute of the 5 days we were in Greece before leaving for London. It was magical. We watched "The Phoenicians", a performance at the Herodes Atticus Theatre starring the great Katina Paxinou and it was unforgettable - it was the best introduction to the ancient classical plays one could wish for. Many years later I played Clytemnestra and Helen of Troy in a renowned production called The Greeks, produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1980 at The Aldwych Theatre in London. I was already fascinated by the Ancient World when Melina (Mercouri) stormed my life a few years later.

I quickly understood that these inimitable sculptures belong to the country in which they were created, and not to a cold museum in England.

What are the memories you have of Melina Mercouri?

Melina can only be likened to a force of nature. Her strong presence swirled around us on this trip to the UK in the 80s, when she began the movement for the "liberation" of the Parthenon Sculptures from the "grey" display room in the British Museum. She was asking for their return to Greece, where they belong. Vanessa Redgrave, also known for her commitment to various political causes, supported this issue as I did. I quickly understood that these inimitable sculptures belong to the country in which they were created, and not to a cold museum in England.

Janet Suzman, Melina Mercouri and Vanessa Redgrave at the Greek Ambassador's Residence in London in the 80's. Shutterstock 361013921

What is the purpose of the British Committee of Sculptures and how important is its contribution?

The Parthenon Sculptures are made of stone. They need an advocate to talk about them, particularly in English. Eleni Cubitt founded this committee to do just that. I knew Eleni and she knew I was in complete agreement with this just cause. Much later, when she was in a nursing home in Islington, in October 2016, I was asked to chair the British Committee for their Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles.

The cultural heritage of Greece has fully done its job in Britain: it has opened the gates of classical science to Europe. After so many years of struggle for the repatriation of these scuptures, they now belongs to where they came from and to the wonderful Acropolis Museum that was built to exhibit them as close as it is physically possible to the Parthenon, which still stands.

We are one of the many committees worldwide that want to see the Marbles reunited with their other halves. Being here in Britain, in the place where half of the surviving  Marbles are currently displayed, we can talk directly with the people holding the keys who will one day "unlock" their forced stay in the British Museum. And most importantly we can continue to feed this "flame" with information on our site, write letters and articles in British newspapers and try to make as much noise as possible, while following the policies of the Greek government itself.

What should be Greece's main argument in order to return the Sculptures to their place?

The cultural heritage of Greece has fully done its work in Britain: that is, it has opened the gates of classical scholarship to Europe. After so many years of struggle for their repatriation, she now belongs to where she came from and to the wonderful Acropolis Museum that was built for this purpose.

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Has the Greek government approached you?

Our Committee is in regular contact with the Greek Embassy in London, with the management of the New Acropolis Museum and of course with the Ministry of Culture in Athens.

Was the committee aware of the secret talks between Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the British Museum?

They wouldn't be secret if we knew about them.

Recently, solutions have been proposed, such as the exchange of antiquities or the recognition of ownership with an exhibition of the sculptures in London. Do you think it might be one of the avenues to negotiate with the British Museum?

These potential exchanges are long-standing as proposals for the emergence of a 'give and take' agreement. The concept of ownership is separate as a matter and of course the most sensitive, yet to be negotiated.

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Pope Francis has decided that the Vatican Museums will return three fragments of the Parthenon to Greece, amid a global account in which Western institutions have begun to return objects to their countries of origin. At the same time, we read in many articles that the Marbles belong to the "world" and therefore should be left where "everyone" can enjoy them. What do you think?

The British Museum has a unique collection of global artefacts. It has over 100,000 Greek artefacts. It is the ideal place to study "visually" the cultures of the whole world. However, fashion and opinions are changing...

The return of the Benin Bronzes recently from the Horniman Museum and the University of Cambridge, the fragments of the Parthenon returning to Greece from the Vatican, but also the rethinking of repatriations from other major institutions in the UK and Europe, mark a change of attitude and respect for other cultures. This is something that is to be warmly welcomed.

People are moving forward in Italy and I hope that the British Museum will follow this path.

I would also add that with Mrs. Cubitt, the Honorary Secretary of the BCRPM, we were in contact with the Vatican Museum even before the Acropolis Museum opened. They, too, were surprised that in the UK there was a Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles! At that time their own laws prevented an unconditional return, and therefore they loaned to the Acropolis Museum a fragment of about 20 centimeters. It comes from the northern frieze of the Parthenon and depicts the head of a young man carrying offerings in the Panathenaic procession. In 2008 our committee had contacted the then director of the Vatican Museums, Francesco Buranelli, who at the time spoke of the generosity of the spirit in the reunification of the fragmented marbles.

In 2016 Pope Francis appointed the first female Director of the Vatican Museum (Barbara Jatta, an Italian art historian) and now, in 2022, he has made this great donation to His Beatitude Jerome II, not only with one fragment, but with three. In other words, he did the right thing. People are moving forward in Italy and I hope that the British Museum will follow this path also.

How optimistic are you about the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles?

I am and have always been optimistic. The pressure is rising, the tide is turning, exciting exchanges I am sure will take place and modern technologies will certainly play an important role. All museums have to deal with the changes brought about by history (e.g. the Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands and the Louvre) and some need, as we see, more time to find a way to respond while maintaining their glamour at the same time. And laws may need to be revised.

To read the original ariticle in Greek online, follow the link here.

 Diary page of The Spectator, 11 March 2023, George Osborne wrotes: 

The Elgin Marbles have always been controversial. Some, like that great Romantic poet Lord Byron, thought they should never have left Greece; but at the British Museum they have been admired by tens of millions of people and I believe they play a vital role in telling the complete story of our common humanity. We trustees are exploring with the Greeks whether there’s a way to solve this 200-year-old dispute so that the sculptures can be seen both in London and Athens, while treasures currently in Greece could be seen by new audiences here. We may succeed, or we may not, but it’s worth trying. I read this week that that other great romantic, Boris Johnson, is worried about it. Surely that can’t be the same Boris who once wrote a column saying that ‘the reasons for taking the Marbles were good. The reasons for handing them back are better still. The Elgin Marbles should leave this northern whisky-drinking guilt culture, and be displayed where they belong: in a country of bright sunlight and the landscape of Achilles, “the shadowy mountains and the echoing sea”’? There must be two Borises.

Read this in The Spectator, 11 March 2023, Diary, page 9.

We would add, that tens of millions of visitors can also see the surviving Parthenon Marbles in the superlative Acropolis Museum, in Athens. A purpose-built state of the art museum which opened on 20 June 2009. The top floor, glass walled Parthenon Gallery, displays the surviving sculptures not removed by Lord Elgin's men at the start of the 19th century when Greece had no voice, and offers direct views to the Parthenon, which still stands.

The Parthenon Gallery in the Acropolis Museum is the one place on earth where it is possible to have a single and aesthetic experience simultaneously of the Parthenon and its sculptures.