Nigel Biggar accuses those clamouring for restitution on misreading history. Sadly when he gets to writing about the Parthenon Marbles and their removal by Lord Elgin at the start of the 19th century when Greece was part of the Ottoman Empire, he too misreads history.
"Elgin had secured from the highest official in Constantinople authorisation to take away “any pieces of stone with old inscriptions, and figures”. Writes Nigel Biggar
Any pieces? Where in the 'permission' does it say 'any'. And where is the permission?
If Nigel Biggar is referring to the Italian letter that the BM hold, then we would add the word used is qualche and qualche means some. Qualsiasi is any. Perhaps time to check that letter, which was not the official firman, as that was never found.
"The letter…does not specifically grant authority to remove the superstructure of the temple, but rather to ‘carry away some pieces of stone with inscriptions and figures’ (presumably those lying around the Acropolis after the explosion of 1687). It seems clear that Elgin and his henchmen did exceed the authority granted him by the Turks who then occupied Greece, but no one at the time challenged their actions. The generous bribes to Turkish officials, quite customary throughout the Ottoman Empire, allowed Lord Elgin’s agents virtual carte blanche on the Acropolis." (‘The Parthenon Frieze’, p. 241, Jenifer Neils)
And as we also know, Elgin's men did not curtail their collecting to what might be lying on the ground, but they took to sawing off parts of the frieze, perhaps the best sculptued parts, to ship them to England destined to decorate Elgin ancestral home in Scotland.
To read Nigel Biggar's article visit, the Telegraph. Nigel Biggar is a theologian, ethicist and author of 'Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning'.
More on the Italian letter, refered to as the firman, here too.
Comments powered by CComment