On Sunday a flurry of reports from Reuters, and other media outlets to highlight the possibility of an agreement bewteen Greece and UK that could sidestep the need to amend the UK's British Museum Act 1963, in order to facilitate the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles.
On Monday, UK's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, stated in the Guardian that as the British Museum collection is funded by taxpayers and protected by law, the portion of the Parthenon Marbles in Bloomsbury, would remain in the UK.
Read the full article by Aubrey Allegretti in the Guardian.
“The UK has cared for the Elgin marbles for generations,” Sunak said. “Our galleries and museums are funded by taxpayers because they are a huge asset to this country."
A UK factoid: what about the way in which the sculptures that Lord Elgin's men deployed to remove the best pieces, destined to decorate his ancestral home, or the cleaning in 1938-1939?
“We share their treasures with the world, and the world comes to the UK to see them. The collection of the British Museum is protected by law, and we have no plans to change it.”
Sharing Greece's treasures is not the issue, as there are over 100,000 Greek artefacts in the British Museum. The Parthenon Marbles are specific sculptures, fragmented, and the pieces that survive are mainly divided between Athens and London.
Greece has always, and only asked for the reunification of the sculptures from the Parthenon. Greece has also offered other Greek artefacts not seen outside of Greece for the British Museum's Room 18.
This story was also reported in Reuters, ARTnews,the Evening Standard, the Greek Reporter and many more.
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