Marbles may belong to the Parthenon: British museum defends pact with Greece | pop art

Since the beginning of the 20th century, Greece has officially demanded the return of a 75-meter-high frieze that was taken from the Parthenon and transferred to the English capital. The Mediterranean country still wanted one of the marble keratids that supported a small temple on the Acropolis of Athens, kept as one of the treasures of the British Museum.

The UK has long refused to refund the money on the grounds that the pieces were obtained legally, through a purchase made in 1802, by British diplomat Lord Elgin, who resold the pieces to the Museum. However, Greece claims that the pieces were looted during the Ottoman occupation of its lands.

It came back to discussion in March, when the British Museum was sued for preventing marble pieces from being 3D-scanned. The Oxford Institute for Digital Archeology intends to make a 3D version of the Greek pieces as a way to expand access to materials and solve the impasse between Athens and London, according to the institute’s director, The Guardian.

In April, Boris Johnson’s government said it would open negotiations with the Greek administration ahead of UNESCO. However, the government has retracted its position saying that such a decision is up to the museum.

This week, the head of the British Museum made a statement showing his willingness to solve the problem. In an interview with LBC Radio, George Osborne said he was open to an agreement to share the pieces.

“I think it is possible to reach an agreement to tell their story at the same time in Athens and London if we discuss this situation without too many conditions or barriers,” he said.

When asked if the pieces could be offered for a period in Greece and later returned to London, he said that kind of negotiation would be possible. “Something that allows you to see them in all their splendor in Athens and see them as examples of other civilizations in London,” he explains.

UK public opinion mostly favors returning the parts. A recent poll by Britain’s YouGov showed that 59% of respondents believed the pieces should be brought back home. Eight years ago, the proportion of the population in favor of re-business was just 37%.

Pressure was mounting on European cultural institutions to return items taken from their colonial countries. In 2021, the University of Cambridge returned to Nigeria a work of bronze that had been looted from the country nearly a century ago.