The Issue
Greece’s new landmark, the Acropolis museum,which is located below the Parthenon in Athens is finally set to open on June 20. The modern museum designed by Bernard Tschumi has three levels and it was originally going to open to coincide with the 2004 hosting of the summer Olympics in Athens. Also the economy has doomed plans for a fancy grand opening and promotional launch which would have cost six million euros.
The museum is still hoping for one exhibit it doesn’t have yet, the Parthenon Marbles which are currently at the British Museum in London. Also known as the Elgin Marbles, they were taken from Greece in 1806 by Lord Elgin when Greece was occupied by the Ottoman Empire and the Parthenon was being used as a military fort. The way in which Elgin obtained the marbles has been a subject of controversy since the beginning. The British Museum has refused to repatriate the pieces from the Parthenon and one of their longstanding arguments has been that Greece didn’t have the proper facilities to display and protect the huge pieces. That is certainly no longer the case. And the British Museum itself also damaged the pieces while attempting to clean them some years back. But it’s also hard to argue with a museum which has owned the art for such a long time and which has become famous for these pieces. The matter has compelling arguments on both sides.
–Diedre Woolward, luxist.com
From 1801 to 1812, Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, removed about 50% of the surviving Parthenon, as well as much of the Propylaea and Erechtheum from the ruins of Ancient Greece. The artifacts were transported to England where the ensuing public uproar antagonized Bruce and eventually forced the British Government to purchase the priceless artwork. Although Bruce claimed to be a servant of the art community protecting history from the militaristic conflict, his actions are still criticized today as rash, arrogant, careless, and illegal.
But what should be done? The British Museum has possession of the Elgin Marbles but the Greek government refuses to acknowledge their ownership, paralyzing any prospect of compromise between the two parties. When asked about the possibility of letting the Greeks barrow the Marbles, Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum answered, ‘… absolutely yes. The difficulty at the moment… is that the Greek government has formally, and recently, refused to acknowledge that the trustees are the owners of the objects. Therefore, in law the trustees could not possibly lend them… The issue has always been about the permanent removal of all the Parthenon material in the… collection to Athens.’ And so the question is posed: should the ownership of the Marbles of Elgin be reverted to the Greek government for good?
The Elgin Marbles should not be returned to Greece because this action would stimulate an imbalance in the structure of ancient art ownership, go against the legal ownership that the Ottoman government granted Bruce, and put the work in the hands of a party that has proved itself to be irresponsible, inefficient, and prone to conflict.
If the Marbles were returned to Greece, museums all around the world would be flooded with demands for the return of nationally significant artwork or restitution for ancient ruins. The culture of the art trade at the present has accepted the effects of Globalization and finders-keepers ideology. This would be disrupted if the Marbles were returned and the motivation for further extra-domestic research and archeology would enter a fallow period. Without the prospects of ownership, museums and academic institutions would not expend resources for research in other counties. This would in turn create a situation where only wealthy countries could afford to preserve their history and the ruins of poorer counties would be vandalized or left to robbers with no academic interest.
Additionally, Historian William St. Clair writes in his book, “Lord Elgin and the Marbles”, Bruce’s actions were “legal at the time… try(ing) to recover the marbles in an international court would… fail.” This is significant because it demonstrates the lack of judicial and moral obligation of the Museum to return the artwork. The Greek government does not need charity and has been unattractively stubborn to any offers from the Museum to borrow the Marbles. Without any legal basis to claim the marbles, it is ignorant to assume that the Greeks request should be honored on a purely nationalistic argument.
Finally, the British Museum has been very cooperative in communicating with the Greek government, but in turn the Greeks have mismanaged their preservation facilities to which they propose the Marbles should be returned. Additionally, the Greeks steadily climbing 33 billion Euro ($34.2 billion) deficit in a recessing economy seems an unneeded risk in relation to the currently stable financial situation of the British Museum, with around 600 million pounds ($1.1 billion) of assets, including 80 million pounds ($140 million) of ‘Unrestricted Funds.’ The British museum has more resources for higher quality preservation of the Marbles. Greece also ranks disappointingly low on the Corruptions Perception Index, signifying a greater risk for the misuse and mishandling of the Marbles. The British museum, on the other hand, is more-or-less transparent and accountable. Lastly, the Balkan region is tortured by military conflict caused by eastern European racial prejudice coupled with the clashing Western and Middle Eastern cultures. This military activity presents a higher chance of the Marbles being destroyed forever.
What the British Museum and the Greek Government need is a compromise. Agreed, there is a valid conflict and reasonable argument on both sides, but only through compromise will the disagreement be resolved fairly. The British Museum has every right to keep the Marbles, but maybe for the sake of diplomacy there could be a contract of 75/25 control or even special visitation rights for Greek tourists. The key is to keep the situation in perspective with relation to other world problems presented to us at this time and not allow a small disagreement over artwork to corrode the relationship that the Greek and British societies enjoy with one another.
–Nathan Peereboom
