At first it would be easy to think that the Parthenon Marbles should be returned to Greece. As in every country cherishes its culture and the icons that represent it anyone could understand how the people of Greece feel about the loss of their cherished sculptures from the Parthenon. While there is the legal claim of sale of the Parthenon Marbles by Lord Elgin to the British government per the article Romancing The Stones, “. . . he was forced to sell to the British government in 1816 for £35,000 (roughly equivalent to $4 million today) to dig himself out of debt after his divorce.” The British Museum seems very reluctant to take the government of Greece for face value. Too many veiled threats and perhaps broken promises seems to cause the current proposal to fall short of gaining the day for the Greeks.
While on the table there is a tasty offer, return the Parthenon Marbles and gain a huge bounty in an ever changing store of Grecian wonders including a set of replacements to boot. The authors of these articles make is sound like a huge conspiracy by the Greece government, people, and representatives of museums are out to steal away forever their property. In reality this may be exactly what they plan to do and yet then why ask for a permanent loan of these most valuable works of art.
‘We had them first’ is an argument that is made it seems in half jest. Pushed aside by representatives of the government of Greece as unimportant and not an issue in their request while at the same time one can hear the loud protestation of ‘We have them now’ by the British Museum. In the concerns voiced by the curators for the safety of these valuable works we hear the spoke reasons to postpone a return to the Parthenon Marbles to their native soil. But this still begs who should have them to display? Should they stand by the remaining ruins where they were taken from or remain in their current berth? These questions can only be answered by a willingness to compromise on both sides and that seems a long time from happening at this time.
Will fewer viewers see them if they are returned to Greece and replicas take their place or if Greece gets the replicas and they stay just where they are? No, but fewer people would get the chance to see some of the art that could be on display. Many museums have an overflow of art work some rarely spend time out of storage and it is sad that these pieces may not be available for all to see. I believe what we are really trying to decide is if the pieces that would possibly be on display at no charge for the people of the world to see in one of the most prestigious museums of the world is worth returning these priceless works to stand in relative safety on the same ground as the building they came from. There should be no issues with this legal contracts are created and signed all the time and both sides have some very smart lawyers so sit down and work it out. Either way consider the pros and prepare for the cons but return the Parthenon to its former glory and share the art with the world.
The Greeks have placed a "tasty offer" on the table, haven't they? The British Museum would never lack for a display of Greek antiquities in their collection, if only they give the Parthenon marbles back.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to think about how the Parthenon marbles are not only a part of Greek identity, but a part of British identity. Lord Elgin acquired these marbles during a period in which there was a lot of tension between the French and the British. The French wanted to get statues from the Parthenon too (some have ended up in the Louvre), but the British were able to get Lord Elgin's massive collection. In a way, the British saw this "conquest" of the Greek statues as a snub against the French. So, in a bizarre way, the Parthenon marbles helped to booster British nationalism.
-Prof. Bowen
Interesting view on this issue! I would have said ten years ago when Greece had no facility that they had no way to hold these marbles, but now that they have such a high tech museum that regulates humidity and temperature as to preserve the artifacts inside changes the story. I agree when you mentioned that there is no point of permanently leasing the marbles because that is exactly the same as just keeping them. Very good insight! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThe way you compared the pros to the cons of returning the Marbles to their native soil makes me think twice about it. I thought that if they were just kept in the British Museum , then more people could come and appreciate these beautiful works of art, instead of having them shipped back to Athens where they might not attract so many visitors because of the large amount of ruins Greece has.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post, I still find it difficult to decide myself if the museum should keep the marbles or give them back to the Greek government. You expressed your debate really well on both sides. I also think it's interesting to consider that museums usually have a lot of artwork that are in storage and are rarely seen than other ones, and that even with a replica of the marbles people could still view them with admiration. Probably, if the museum decided to go that route with the replica and bringing out more possible art from their storage, they can still gain people coming to the museum. It's true that if they had a replica people wouldn't normally get a chance to see the originals, but thinking about how there are Roman marble copies of Greek ones kind of tell me that people will still greatly admire the copy/replica even if it isn't the original. I enjoyed reading your post!
ReplyDeleteYou know, this issue kind of reminds me of a story I read by author David Sedaris. In it, Sedaris states that he can't stand anyone who says they "discovered" any store or restaurant that can be found in the phone book.
ReplyDeleteIt's a little odd that people unearth these treasures and lay claim to them, even though, if those pieces had not been "lost" so to speak, there would be no question as to who they belonged to. Those pieces returning to Greece would not make me decide to never see them, it would give me even more of an incentive to go!