"The arguments against their return to Greece are no longer tenable," argues art historian and museum professional Eleni Vassilika, as she writes in The Art Newspaper.
"International human rights, improved by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007), acknowledge a community’s right to its cultural patrimony. Greece was recognised as an independent nation in 1832 and made repeated early requests for the return of the Marbles; its Archaeological Service was created in 1835. The arguments against the return of the Marbles are no longer tenable. Since 2009 the spectacular Acropolis Museum with its direct sightline of the Parthenon, contextualises the sculptural decoration in a way that the BM never can. Just as Sutton Hoo represents English cultural patrimony, so too the Parthenon Marbles represent the cultural patrimony of Greece. Precision copies may reliably replace the originals in the Duveen gallery." Concludes Eleni Vassilika
To read the article in full, kindly visit The Art Newspaper .
• Eleni Vassilika was the keeper of antiquities, Fitzwilliam Museum (1990-2000); director and chief executive of the Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum (2000-05); and director, Museo Egizio di Torino (2005-14)
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