Point of No Return? Britain and the Elgin Marbles

[Disir]

Since they were first ‘acquired’ in 1816, Britain has never seriously considered returning the sculptures collectively known as the ‘Elgin Marbles’ to their place of origin. Successive governments have argued that they are better preserved and more accessible in the British Museum, their current home; that their return would constitute a precedent to be regretted later; or, especially in the past, that the Greeks were unable to preserve their heritage and that Athens offered less security than the capital of a more stable power. Such rhetoric has been employed, with almost clockwork regularity, since about 1890 – ‘the question has been reopened on an average of every five years’, wrote William St Clair, author of Lord Elgin and the Marbles in 1967.

In September 2014, the Greek government embarked upon an effort to repatriate the Marbles by legal means, entrusting the preparation of its case to international lawyer Amal Alamuddin-Clooney. This high profile appointment proved fairly short-lived as, by May 2015, a new cabinet decided not to press the matter in court. Not only the high fees involved but also uncertainty over the outcome played a part in this decision. An adverse res judicata could make it all but impossible to pursue the matter further. Thus, Athens stuck to its record of seeking to reclaim the artefacts through diplomatic and political means.

The Marbles were removed from Athens and shipped to England on the initiative of Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, who served as British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire between 1799 and 1803. At first, they were publicly exhibited in a private house on Park Lane. They attracted the interest of various potential buyers, Napoleon among them. At the invitation of the trustees of the British Museum, however, Lord Elgin chose to offer them to the British government in return for a reimbursement high enough to meet his current debt. In June 1816 a Select Committee of the House of Commons found that the Marbles had been ‘honourably and meritoriously acquired’ and would greatly increase the artistic wealth of the nation. The Committee set the price at £35,000, considerably less than the £74,000 which Elgin’s requested for his expenses. The House carried the vote for the purchase and a subsequent Act of Parliament passed the collection ‘in perpetuity’ to the trustees of the British Museum.
Point of No Return? Britain and the Elgin Marbles | History Today

It's time to send the Elgin Marbles back home.

 

[saveliberty]

Greeks lost their marbles....explains so much...

 

[Disir]

Greeks lost their marbles....explains so much...

 

[frigidweirdo]

Since they were first ‘acquired’ in 1816, Britain has never seriously considered returning the sculptures collectively known as the ‘Elgin Marbles’ to their place of origin. Successive governments have argued that they are better preserved and more accessible in the British Museum, their current home; that their return would constitute a precedent to be regretted later; or, especially in the past, that the Greeks were unable to preserve their heritage and that Athens offered less security than the capital of a more stable power. Such rhetoric has been employed, with almost clockwork regularity, since about 1890 – ‘the question has been reopened on an average of every five years’, wrote William St Clair, author of Lord Elgin and the Marbles in 1967.

In September 2014, the Greek government embarked upon an effort to repatriate the Marbles by legal means, entrusting the preparation of its case to international lawyer Amal Alamuddin-Clooney. This high profile appointment proved fairly short-lived as, by May 2015, a new cabinet decided not to press the matter in court. Not only the high fees involved but also uncertainty over the outcome played a part in this decision. An adverse res judicata could make it all but impossible to pursue the matter further. Thus, Athens stuck to its record of seeking to reclaim the artefacts through diplomatic and political means.

The Marbles were removed from Athens and shipped to England on the initiative of Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, who served as British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire between 1799 and 1803. At first, they were publicly exhibited in a private house on Park Lane. They attracted the interest of various potential buyers, Napoleon among them. At the invitation of the trustees of the British Museum, however, Lord Elgin chose to offer them to the British government in return for a reimbursement high enough to meet his current debt. In June 1816 a Select Committee of the House of Commons found that the Marbles had been ‘honourably and meritoriously acquired’ and would greatly increase the artistic wealth of the nation. The Committee set the price at £35,000, considerably less than the £74,000 which Elgin’s requested for his expenses. The House carried the vote for the purchase and a subsequent Act of Parliament passed the collection ‘in perpetuity’ to the trustees of the British Museum.
Point of No Return? Britain and the Elgin Marbles | History Today

It's time to send the Elgin Marbles back home.

Will the US send back all their stolen items too?

The strangest thing is the Chinese with their antiques. Without being stolen, they'd have been destroyed or ignored. Because westerners would pay large amounts for such things, they suddenly became valuable. The Chinese like valuable things, so they want them back, simply because they feel like they'd be richer with them, not culturally, because really the Chinese don't seem to care too much for past culture, but just to make a great deal.