Elgin Marbles
Volume 834: debated on Thursday 14 December 2023
2:06 pm
Lord Lexden: "To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of proposals to loan the Elgin Marbles to Greece."
And Lord Lexden began with:
"My Lords, the Elgin marbles—or Parthenon sculptures, as some prefer—are famous for two reasons. The first reason is of course because they are magnificent treasures of civilization, part of the heritage of our world. The second reason that they are famous is as regrettable as it is persistent. These great treasures have an almost infinite capacity to provoke heated arguments about their ownership and their location. It is almost impossible to mention them in everyday conversation without instigating a dispute on these points."
To read the entire exchange in the House of Lords, follow the link here.
BCRPM wishes to thank Baroness Chakrabarti for her input, including:
" Regardless of arguments about legality, past or present, the British people know better than too many of their leaders how to make friends by being the bigger person. Most of them support returning the artefacts to the people to whom they mean so much more. A few minutes, let alone hours, at the Acropolis Museum in Athens would lead any noble Lord to understand just how much these artefacts mean to the people of Greece. Few have been fooled by years of buck-passing between museum and government around this issue, when technological advancement should make sharing and return so much easier than ever before."
And Lord Dubs, whose support for our campaign stretches back to when Eddie O'Hara was our Chair, also made pertinent points including:
"Then there is the argument about loaning or returning them. I appreciate that there is a difficulty because of the 1963 Act. Nevertheless, I think the right answer, in the fullness of time, will be to return the marbles to their rightful place in Athens. If it needs a change in legislation, that could be achieved—but, for heaven’s sake, we cannot forever fall out with our Greek friends on this issue."
Lord Allan of Hallam must be thanked too for pointing out that there are new stories waiting to be made, and remembering our founder Eleni Cubitt:
"Artefacts also add new elements to their stories over time; this is especially true for the Parthenon sculptures. As well as Lord Elgin himself, their story now includes Melina Mercouri, who kicked off that campaign 40 years ago, and Eleni Cubitt, who ran the UK campaign for their return over many years. Our current Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has now become part of the story; George Osborne may be an even bigger figure if he leads the trustees to agree to some form of display in Athens. It is certainly my hope that we will find a way to have the entire set of sculptures singing their story out from the new Acropolis Museum, while the British Museum continues to tell its rich stories through other fabulous Greek objects from its own collection or from loans."
Lord Frost has received most of the coverage in the UK media as he voiced his personal view:
"Personally, I have never been so convinced by the moral, artistic and cultural arguments for the position we take. The Parthenon marbles are a special situation and we should try to find a special solution. They are one of the supreme expressions of ancient Greek, hence western, art. They were created for a specific building and a specific cultural context. In contrast to much ancient sculpture, we know exactly what that context was and what the work of art was intended to signify. These are not just random museum exhibits and, for as long as they are not seen as a whole, they are less than the sum of their parts."
Adding: "My personal view is that it is a time for a grand gesture, and only the Government can make it." Indedd, the magnanimous gesture called for by so many over such a long period of time has yet to find a UK Prime Minister to support it. Whilst the public support grows, the political will at the top remains fixed.
Most of the voices yesterday afternoon in the House of Lords accepted that there was a unique case in the division of these sculptures. With many supporting the reunification. We urge more voices to join these right thinking folks on a matter of cultural heritage that deserves our collective respect. Greece's ask is wholly justified.
