London, Thanasis Gavos

The idea of  "rotating" loans for the sculptures from the Parthenon is unsatisfactory when one also considers that Greece's ask is wholly justified. The ask is for the permanent reunification of all these sculptures. A request that was first made shortly after Greece gained her independence.

British supporters for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles consider the possible "deal" described by a Bloomberg report on Tuesday night to be disappointing.

Citing sources on the ongoing talks, the news articles said parts of the sculptures could be returned over time and "on a rotational basis" from the British Museum to the Acropolis Museum, as part of a "cultural exchange".

In light of this, Professor Paul Cartledge, Vice-Chair of the British Committee for Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles (BCRPM) and Vice-Chair of the International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures (IARPS), said that he understands that the Bloomberg report has been denied by the Greek Ministry of Culture .

"I can understand why both the British Museum is keen to give the impression that it is not just saying no (to reunification) but that it is interested in some kind of negotiated solution, while on the other hand I fully understand why the Ministry of Culture in Greece would accept nothing less than the return of all that the British Museum and, incidentally, other museums - as a whole and for eternity" the former professor of Ancient Greek Culture at the University of Cambridge told SKAI.

"None of these piecemeal 'here you go, you can have this piece of frieze and then we expect some nice things from you back and then we'll give you some more of the frieze', i.e. we'll lend them to you, we won't give them to you of course," Mr. Cartledge added, rejecting the content of the deal described by Bloomberg sources.

The British professor agrees, however, that even if we have not reached the desired outcome, the constant references to talks and possible agreements prove that progress has been made.

"I think the pressure is intensifying. The fact that the Pope has agreed to give back – and not in some way lend or raise any legal issue – the pieces held by the Vatican Museums, is the latest in a series of different things that have been achieved outside of Britain. All this leads to the conclusion that it is obvious that the British Museum's Chair and Trustees should do the right thing and enter into negotiations on the basis that the relevant laws (preventing reunification) should be amended or withdrawn for this specific case. But also that they wish, not that they are obliged, that they wish to give back (the Sculptures) as they normally should. So there is no doubt that (there is) this  idea of the deal, as if the British Museum has some basis on a moral basis, which we believe it does not have," Professor Cartledge noted.

The rotation of the Sculptures would not solve the issue of ownership. Another thorn, of course, is the British Museum Act of 1963 which prohibits the removal of exhibits from the British Museum's collection.

A possible way out of this is the British Charity Act of 2022, as pointed out by lawyer George Dimaras who specializes in cases of mixed national jurisdiction and works in Greece, Britain and other countries: "Greece's ownership arguments remain strong. However, there is also the recent change in legislation in Britain in 2022 and the Charity Act, which allows museum to request the return of objects found in British museum collections on the basis of moral obligations. Although this is a difficult issue, perhaps the new law could affect decisions regarding the Parhenon Sculptures," the Greek lawyer, George Dimaras told SKAI.

It should be noted, however, that the implementation of two crucial articles of the new law has been put on hold by the British government in order to  carry out additional research in order to "thoroughly asses their impact" on museum collections.

Source: skai.gr

To liten to the report, follow the link here.

23 May 2022, London, Thanasis Gavos for Skaigr

"Great shock" said Michael Wood, a renown British historian as he grappled with the "false" claim of the British Museum that most of the Parthenon Sculptures located in London were collected by Lord Elgin's associates not from the monument, but "from the rubble".

This argument was made by the Deputy Director of the British Museum Jonathan Williams at UNESCO's the intergovernmental commission's 23 session on the Promotion of the Return of Cultural Property last week in Paris.

Speaking to SKAI Mr. Wood, Professor of Public History at the University of Manchester and one of the newest members of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles (BCRPM), clarified: "It is clearly clear that most of the marbles that Elgin took were taken from the monument. You cannot tour the British Museum today looking at them and thinking that these marbles fell from 40 feet in the rubble. The greatest of the damage they suffered was in their removal by Elgin and his envoy, the Italian Lusieri."

The professor known through television histories to the British professor continued: "We have eyewitnesses who describe the forcible removal of the foreheads, the frieze. Even Lusieri himself admitted that he had to resort to becoming a 'little barbarian', as he put it, to get the pieces of the frieze, cutting the back with saws to make them lighter to be transported. So it is outrageous to claim that most of the sculptures were not on the monument."

Mr Williams' argument provoked a reaction from Culture Minister Lina Mendoni, who in a statement to the Guardian newspaper referred, among other things, to the "blatant theft" by Elgin.

The honorary President of the BCRPM Professor Anthony Snowgrass commented speaking to SKAI that the argument for rescuing sculptures from the rubble is not entirely new, but has now been formulated to an exaggerated degree. In any case, he added, it does not change the substance of the issue and the Greek request.

On the British Museum's argument for the legal acquisition of the Sculptures, which Mr. Williams insisted on at the UNESCO conference, Michael Wood noted: "In the year 2022 such arguments do not convince most people at all. Whether they were acquired legally is a very controversial point, there is very little evidence of this. In any case, how can he (Elgin) legally acquire them from an occupying power?

"The question on which we should keep our minds is not these meticulous arguments about whether it was legal, whether this sculpture was on the ground or not, but what is the right thing to do in this case. All over the world now these demands for reparations and for the repatriation of things looted by European powers in the era of imperialism are becoming a very big issue. The time has now come for these Sculptures to be reunited in the Acropolis Museum."

At the same time, Mr. Wood highlighted the importance of the moral argument about a single artistic creation that must be united to the greatest extent possible. "There are also fragments in the Vatican, in the Louvre, in Copenhagen, in Würzburg. Everything should be returned to Athens and the Marbles should be reunited.

As for the British Museum, he stressed that it could replace the Parthenon Sculptures with other "fascinating" masterpieces offered by the Greek government.

"Moreover, the return of the Parthenon Marbles would be a great, magnanimous gesture from the British to the Greeks, which most Britons support, according to the polls," Michael Wood concluded.

Source: skai.gr

The news in Greece exploded last night as a result of the Times leading article 'Uniting Greece's Heritage'. The article called the case for reuniting the sculptures from the Parthenon, a compelling one. The top evening news bulletin in Athens on Wednesday 12 January 2022 was made by SkaiTV with Michael Binyon speaking for The Times and Professor Paul Cartledge for BCRPM.

To view this news bulletin, follow the link here.

Thanasis Gavos, the UK Correspondent for SkaiTV Greece, has sent us the Q & A  he reported on with Professor Cartledge:

Q: What is the significance of such an article in such a newspaper, which for many represented the views of the British establishment?

PC: To me it’s quite a surprise. The paper is one of our very oldest. It was founded in the 1780s, it has a circulation of about 400,000 per day and about 15 million per month. It is, as you says, a paper whose view are, shall we say, centre-right and they represent what one might call ‘the establishment’. So well-educated, university educated professional people typically who read it. And conventionally, my impression is, a lot of people with that background who read The Times actually favour the retention of the Marbles in the British Museum, for various reasons, partly legal, partly cultural. They don’t think they should go back. But, this second leader in The Times suggests to me that it is reflecting a groundswell of opinion, a real change, we might even say a sea change, in opinions.

And I think what started it really was the French claiming that they must now deal with the damage done by colonialism, by restoring the various French African territories’ artefacts. That of course brought into question the Benin Bronzes in Nigeria, which the British stole, no question about that. The Elgin question, the Marbles of the Parthenon, is a much more complicated issue, both legally and historically. Which is why the shift in opinion of The Times to me is both a surprise and a very welcome surprise.

Q: We can also read they accept the main moral argument, who many might say is THE main argument, that the Parthenon Sculptures are part of an artistic whole, therefore a unique case. Could we say now that this argument has been really well-establish in the British public opinion?

PC: I sincerely hope so. You  put your finger on the most important point from our - that is the British Committee and the international Associations - point of view, which is that the Parthenon is a unique structure. The Greek government is not even asking for the return of the very famous Caryatid column from the Erechtheion. It’s a mistake to think that the Greek government want everything that Elgin took to be returned to Athens. The campaign is specifically for the Parthenon Marbles  because as you say, of it’s unique status: still remaining on the Acropolis, of course in a ruined state, in visible sight of the New Acropolis Museum with its dedicated gallery aligned with the Parthenon and properly, we think, historically, scientifically properly displayed.

So we were very very happy that this leader, though wrongly used the phrase ‘Elgin marbles’ which is too broad, nevertheless put its finger on that key unique point - which of course therefore means that this particular case has no necessary implications for any other artefacts in the British Museum.

Q: Pressure is building, but how hopeful are you that at some point we will see the restitution of the Sculptures?

PC: I am hopeful but only in the longer term, for two reasons. One, we have not yet identified anyone in the current parliament or government who would be willing to stand up and campaign and propose the reunification. Secondly, the British government, like in Cyprus, like in Greece, has other more immediately pressing issues to face. When you make a parliamentary campaign to propose a measure, it takes an awful lot of time, and time is money. Therefore, you have to prioritise, and at the moment the Covid situation is so bad in this country that we still have no doubt a long way to go before the government can turn its mind to anything other than that, such as the Parthenon Marbles issue.

Thanasis Gavos, UK correspondent for SkaiTV Greece, with his story following on from The Times lead leader article published that morning, supportng the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles.  

SkaiTV Greece, speaking with Michael Binyon of The Times