March 2021

On Tuesday 02 March, a four hour 'History Matters' Conference Webinar took places under the auspices of the Policy Exchange and culminated in the final session, a conversation between Sir Trevor Phillips and Oliver Dowden, Minister of Culture, Media and Sport.

There were speakers during the webinar that highlighted the value of listening to the voices, bringing in the viewpoints of those voices to the display materials of museums and institutions. Oliver Dowden howerver  was very robust in asking cultural instittiions not to bend to any pressure groups but to cotinue to preserve Britain's rich heritage: to 'conserve and retain', 'to own our past and enhance collective understanding'.

And yet, the question always remains the same. Why would a nation request the return of artefacts to the country of origin if it did not think it had a valid reason? And as we continue to live in a challenging 21st centrury, we also continue to reflect on the merit of such requests, on a case by case basis.

In this month's The Art Newspaper, a letter by our Chair Dame Janet Suzman, which continues to urge the British Museum to listen to the voices and to spell out the history of the collection in Room 18, so as to allow the visiting public to make up its own minds too.

In her letter, Janet concludes:"We think it is both fair and vital that the full story of these stellar carvings in the British Museum’s huge collection of world treasures is properly told. They are, and have been for well over a century, of prime importance to the people of the Hellenic Republic of Greece."

Respect.

To read the letter you can follow the link herealso. Below this month's The Art Newspaper's Letters page.

Letters Page, The Times, Friday 18 February 2022

In the past, that has been considered sufficient justification by the British Museum for it to reject any requests for their return. When you add the facts that Egyptian museums have been less secure, and that had the marbles remained in position on the Parthenon they would have decomposed in the atmospheric pollution so as no longer to be recognisable, then most rational people would have supported that position.

The situation has changed, however, gradually with the passage of time; Egypt and Greece are now perfectly capable of providing dedicated, secure environments using the latest technology to preserve these artifacts intact. And it is now possible to produce close-to-perfect copies that could be put in place of the originals in the British Museum, so that the experience of the visitor would in no way be diminished.

The time has come when the British Museum should recognise the change in relative status between Britain and the rest of the world. We are no longer the imperial masters and increasingly need to build constructive working relationships as between equals. We can no longer demand and bully, but must request politely that others join with us in collaborative ventures against terrorism and other global threats.

These artifacts are of immense cultural significance to Egypt and Greece. To return them would not require any admission of legal title, or of any past wrongdoing, but would simply be a gesture of goodwill. They would be very well received (perhaps an understatement of the response that should be expected), and it would reflect well on Britain that we didn't have to give them back, but chose to do so anyway.

 15 January 2022,The Times

Letters Page

Michael Wood, BCRPM's newest member, also had a letter published in the Times today: