British Museum Chairman George Osborne has repeated his offer to temporarily loan Greece the stolen Parthenon Marbles on condition Greece put up other artifacts as collateral for display and send the marbles back at some point.
That had already been rejected by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis – who earlier had been open to the idea of a loan – Culture Minister Lina Mendoni saying the Marbles are stolen and Greece won’t cede its right to them.
The offer comes as the museum is being criticized over the theft of thousands of other artifacts that saw a curator fired but no one prosecuted, the incidents drawing worry about the safety of other exhibits and treasures.
The marbles were ripped off the Parthenon early in the 19th Century by a Scottish diplomat, Lord Elgin, who got into financial trouble on returning home and sold them to the museum.
He had permission from the then-ruling Ottoman Empire – which didn’t own them – and the museum has claimed it’s the rightful owner and that Greece would have to declare the Greek treasures belong only to the British.
The British newspaper The Standard said that Osborne wants to return to the rejected idea of a loan but didn’t say why he thinks Mitsotakis would change his mind after the two had been negotiating a deal in secret.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/george-osborne-greece-elgin-marbles-elgin-mps-b1114339.html
Responding to criticism from Mendoni about the treatment of the stolen marbles, Osborne said he still wants to push for a loan that would, if agreed upon, require a future Greek government to ship them back to London while the museum keeps other Greek artifacts hostage to make sure.
He told Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee: “We think they play a very important part at the museum in telling not just the story of ancient Athens and its role in the world but how it sits alongside other great civilizations.”
The museum relies on other artifacts and exhibits taken from other countries during British Colonial rule and said if the marbles are returned it would lead to demands for those to be sent back as well.
“I think it’s worth exploring – and I’ve been in direct talks with the Greek government about this – is there some sort of arrangement that would allow some of the sculptures to spend some of their time in Greece? And what would be the partnership that would be born of that?”
That was another indication that only some of the Marbles would be loaned to Greece and the others stay in the museum as insurance for the return, no idea why he thought any Greek leader would agree to that.
“It’s not a particularly happy situation where we have had this stand-off with Greece for many decades, and the level of scholarship and engagement that we have with many other countries is not one that is replicated with some Greek museums,” he said, indicating there’s no chance they will be returned outright.
Read more at thenationalherald.com
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