Daisy Raymond, Spring 2024
For decades, the marbles of the Parthenon have been a point of contention between Greece and the United Kingdom. Since 1983, Greece has requested the return of 17 pedimental figures, 15 metopes, and 247 feet (160 meters) of the frieze, all from the Parthenon temple. The aforementioned marbles are housed in Room 18 of the British Museum, while the other portion of the marbles reside in Athens, Greece at the Acropolis Museum. The repatriation of the marbles is a complex issue that is approached differently by curators, art historians, and archeologists. Modern opinion regarding antiquities, the building of encyclopedic museums, and the controversial acquisition of the marbles all culminate into the delicate, complex, and multinational issue of the repatriation of the Parthenon Marbles.
The lengthy history of the Parthenon plays a vital role in the current location of the Marbles. The Parthenon Marbles, also known as the “Elgin Marbles,” were removed from the façade of the ancient temple between 1801 and 1805 at the command of Scottish nobleman Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin. First-hand accounts of the removal of the marbles vary, with some stating the marbles were pried off the exterior of the temple with crowbars, though Thomas Bruce defended his actions, claiming that his unit only took marbles that were severely damned or had fallen off of the temple. Upon their arrival to England, the marbles became the centerpiece of the Earl’s private collection. In 1816, the marbles were sold to the British government and became part of the British Museum’s permanent collection. The museum still maintains that the acquisition of the marbles was legal and legitimate.
Earl Elgin, the Ottoman consulate, approved the removal of the marbles, citing that the British acquisition of the antiquities was in the best interest of the Greeks, as the Parthenon had suffered enough damage. During conflict between the Ottoman Empire and the Venetians, a Venetian mortar struck the exterior of Parthenon, however this would not be the only damage inflicted upon the monuments during the dispute. During the mid-1600s the Ottomans also utilized the temple as a storage facility for their gunpowder and munitions. Unfortunately, during this period of time, the gunpowder inside the ancient monument exploded, causing untold damage to the Parthenon. Throughout the 1800s, British tabloids and press would continue to justify British acquisition of the antiquities citing the military conflict two-hundred years prior. For decades, the British maintained that the Earl’s actions were justified, and that England had the proper facilities to care for and conserve the marbles. The Earl went as far as to include the just-nature in which the marbles were acquired in the catalog of the antiquities within his museum. Under section two of this privately inventory, it states that “forty detached parts of the frieze of the outer cell of the Parthenon” were acquired and cataloged in the Earl’s collection. Great care was taken to not admit, purposely or accidentally, that any pieces of Parthenon that were shipped back to the United Kingdom were forcefully removed, but rather pieces that had already been “detached.”
As of 2024, the curatorial staff of the British Museum have made no effort to provide information within the physical gallery spaces on the ongoing controversy that surrounds the marbles. Repatriation is a nuanced issue for museums, and academics, alike. The marbles are not the only antiquity in the British Museum’s collection subject to scrutiny. The Benin Bronzes, the Asante Gold Regalia, as well as two large moai from Easter Island are contested objects within the museum’s collection. At the very least, the museum should be required to provide adequate and educational literature on the status of the repatriation request and Earl’s questionable acquisition of the marbles.
Encyclopedic museums, such as the British Museum serve a distinct and integral purpose in public knowledge and education. James B. Cuno, an accomplished American art historian and former director and professor at the Courtauld Institute of Art at the University of London argues that “The combination of retentionist cultural property laws, international conventions, and the halting of the practice of partage has discouraged the building of encyclopedic collections. [...] encyclopedic museum collections should be built to broaden and deepen our understanding of the world’s cultures in all their differences, similarities, and interrelatedness” (Cuno, 38).Support of encyclopedic museums, is also support of public education in culture, history, and art. Despite continued appeals for the marbles to be returned to Greece, the antiquities are one piece of a much larger puzzle. If and/or when the Parthenon Marbles return to Greece, will the floodgates open for all antiquities to be returned to their country of origin? This burgeons the question of which is more important: the return of antiquities to their motherland, or the use of these same antiquities in historical and cultural enlightenment through their display at encyclopedic museums?
Bibliography
Pediment Sculpture of the Parthenon. Athens, 438-432 BC.
Frieze of the Parthenon. Athens, 438-432 BC.
Metopes of the Parthenon. Athens, 438-432 BC.
Bruce, Thomas. Catalogue of the Antiquities in the Earl of Elgin’s Museum. London: Printed for private circulation, 1815.
Cuno, James, ed. Whose Culture? : The Promise of Museums and the Debate over Antiquities. Princeton University Press, 2009.
Jenkins, Tiffany. Keeping Their Marbles : How the Treasures of the Past Ended up in Museums ... and Why They Should Stay There. First edition. Oxford ; Oxford University Press, 2016.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my Gran, Patricia Steadman for financing my study abroad trip. I would also like to thank my parents, Vanessa and Gregory Raymond for their continual support in my academic endeavors. Additional funding for this study abroad class provided by the UAH Honors College. Lastly, I would like to thank Professor Grimsely for making time in our busy London schedule to visit the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery.
