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BRIEFING PAPER

Number 02075, 9 June 2017

The Parthenon Sculptures By John Woodhouse and Sarah Pepin

Contents: 1. What are the Parthenon

Sculptures? 2. How did the British Museum

acquire them? 3. Ongoing controversy 4. Further reading

2 The Parthenon Sculptures

Contents Summary 3

1. What are the Parthenon Sculptures? 5 1.1 Early history 5

2. How did the British Museum acquire them? 6

3. Ongoing controversy 7 3.1 Campaign groups in the UK 9 3.2 UK Government position 10 3.3 British Museum position 11 3.4 Greek Government action 14 3.5 UNESCO mediation 14 3.6 Parliamentary interest 15

4. Further reading 20

Contributing Authors: Diana Perks

Attribution: Parthenon Sculptures, British Museum by Carole Radatto. Licenced under CC BY-SA 2.0 / image cropped.

3 Commons Library Briefing, 9 June 2017

Summary This paper gives an outline of the more recent history of the Parthenon sculptures, their acquisition by the British Museum and the long-running debate about suggestions they be removed from the British Museum and returned to Athens.

The Parthenon sculptures consist of marble, architecture and architectural sculpture from the Parthenon in Athens, acquired by Lord Elgin between 1799 and 1810. Often referred to as both the Elgin Marbles and the Parthenon marbles, “Parthenon sculptures” is the British Museum’s preferred term.1

Lord Elgin’s authority to obtain the sculptures was the subject of a Select Committee inquiry in 1816. It found they were legitimately acquired, and Parliament then voted the funds needed for the British Museum to acquire them later that year.

They are now held under the terms of the British Museum Act 1963.

From the time of the Museum’s acquisition, there have been suggestions that the sculptures be returned to Athens.

Greek Government position

In October 1983, following support at UNESCO the previous year, the Greek Government made a formal request to the UK Government for their return. The request was formally rejected by the UK in April 1984.2

The Greek Government later made a case for a change in location, rather than a change in ownership. It argued for the return of the sculptures in order to reunite the collection, which would be displayed in a new Acropolis Museum. Its case was set out in a memorandum to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee in 2000 as part of the latter’s inquiry into cultural property.3

In May 2015, it was reported that the Greek Government had both sought and rejected advice for taking legal action against the UK for the retrieval of the sculptures. The BBC reported that Greece’s culture minister would pursue “a diplomatic and political approach” instead.4

UK Government position

The UK Government’s policy continues to be that “Issues relating to the ownership and management of the Parthenon sculptures are matters for the trustees of the British Museum.”5

British Museum position

The Museum’s general position is set out in a letter of 26 March 2015 to address the UNESCO mediation proposal (described below):

The British Museum […] is not a government body, and the collections do not belong to the British Government. The Trustees of the British Museum hold them not only for the British people, but for the benefit of the world public, present and future. The Trustees have a legal and moral responsibility to preserve and maintain all the

1 British Museum, The Parthenon Sculptures: Facts and figures [last accessed 2 May 2017] 2 Ibid 3 Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Cultural property: return and illicit trade, 5 June 2000, HC 371-II,

Q547-93 and Memorandum submitted by Greek government [last accessed 2 May 2017] 4 Elgin Marbles legal action ruled out by Greece, BBC news, 14 May 2015 [last accessed 2 May 2017] 5 PQ 122460, 19 October 2012

4 The Parthenon Sculptures

collections in their care, to treat them as inalienable and to make them accessible to world audiences.6

Earlier, its position had been set out in minutes of evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee inquiry of 2000.7

Other issues relating to the Museum as owner and custodian, both of which have provoked criticism, are:

• The cleaning of the sculptures in 1938. The detailed evidence of this is presented in a British Museum Paper of 2001.8

• The loan of a sculpture to the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg in 2014.9

UNESCO proposal for mediation with Greece

In 2013 UNESCO, at the request of the Greek Government, proposed a process of mediation in relation to the Parthenon sculptures. The process would involve the British Museum, the UK Government and the Greek Government, and would be facilitated by UNESCO.10

In 2015 both the UK Government and the British Museum declined the request.

The UK Government stated in its response to UNESCO that:

We have seen nothing to suggest that Greece’s purpose in seeking mediation on this issue is anything other than to achieve the permanent transfer of the Parthenon sculptures now in the British Museum to Greece and on terms that would deny the British Museum’s right of ownership, either in law or as a practical reality. Given our equally clear position, this leads us to conclude that mediation would not carry this debate substantially forward.11

The British Museum in its own response explained:

The Trustees would want to develop existing good relations with colleagues and institutions in Greece, and to explore collaborative ventures, not on a government-to-government basis but directly between institutions. This is why we believe that UNESCO involvement is not the best way forward. Museums holding Greek works, whether in Greece, the UK or elsewhere in the world, are naturally united in a shared endeavour to show the importance of the legacy of ancient Greece. The British Museum is committed to playing its full part in sharing the value of that legacy for all humanity.12

6 Sir Richard Lambert, Response of the Trustees of the British Museum to the request put forward by the

Greek Government that they should enter into a process of mediation, facilitated by UNESCO, on the subject of the Parthenon Sculptures in the British Museum, 26 March 2015 [last accessed 2 May 2017]

7 Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Cultural property: return and illicit trade, 8 June 2000, HC 371-ii, Q549-651 [last accessed 2 May 2017]

8 Ian Jenkins, Cleaning and Controversy: The Parthenon Sculptures 1811-1939, BM Occasional Paper 146, 2001 [last accessed 2 May 2017]

9 Elgin Marbles: British Museum lends statue to Russia, BBC news, 5 December 2014 [last accessed 2 May 2017]

10 British Museum, The Parthenon Sculptures: Facts and figures [last accessed 2 May 2017] 11 Dept for Culture, Media and Sport and Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Parthenon sculptures in the

British Museum: letter to Assistant Director-General for Culture, UNESCO, 26 March 2015 [last accessed 2 May 2017]

12 Sir Richard Lambert, Response of the Trustees of the British Museum to the request put forward by the Greek Government that they should enter into a process of mediation, facilitated by UNESCO, on the subject of the Parthenon Sculptures in the British Museum, 26 March 2015 [last accessed 2 May 2017]

5 Commons Library Briefing, 9 June 2017

Campaign groups

In the UK, the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles13 and Marbles Reunited14 are both campaigning for the return of the Parthenon sculptures.

1. What are the Parthenon Sculptures? The Parthenon sculptures consist of the decorative parts of the temple erected to the Greek goddess Athena in the 5th century BC on the Acropolis in Athens. Three main groups of sculpture have survived: the pediment sculptures, the metopes and the frieze.15

Of the surviving Parthenon sculptures, the British Museum has approximately half.16 The rest are either in Athens or in one of the following institutions:

• Musée du Louvre, Paris (one frieze slab, one metope, fragments of the frieze and metopes, a head from the pediments)

• Vatican Museums (fragments of metopes, frieze and pediments)

• National Museum, Copenhagen (two heads from a metope in the British Museum)

• Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (three fragments of frieze)

• University Museum, Würzburg, Germany (head from a metope in the British Museum)

• Glyptothek, Munich, Germany (fragments of frieze)17

A museum in Palermo, Italy, also has a fragment of frieze which was loaned to Greece in September 2008 and returned to Italy in 2010.18

The sculptures and fragments from the Parthenon which are now exhibited in the British Museum consist largely, but not exclusively, of the collections brought to England by Lord Elgin in the early nineteenth century.19

1.1 Early history The present Parthenon, the temple of Athena, was completed in 432 BC. It was built on the Acropolis in Athens, replacing the previous temple which had been destroyed during the Persian invasion of 480 BC.20 In the 3rd century BC the temple was damaged by fire and restored a little. In the 6th century AD it was converted into a church/cathedral. Later, under Ottoman rule, it was turned into a mosque.21

In 1687, during the Turkish-Venetian War, the Parthenon was being used to store gunpowder for the Turkish garrison when it was hit by a canon ball, igniting the gunpowder and causing an explosion that significantly damaged the building and its

13 British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles [last accessed 2 May 2017] 14 Marbles Reunited [last accessed 2 May 2017] 15 Jessi Stumpfel et al, Digital Reunification of the Parthenon and its Sculptures, 4th International Symposium

on Virtual Reality, Archaeology and Intelligent Cultural Heritage, 2003, p2 [last accessed 2 May 2017] 16 British Museum, The Parthenon Sculptures: Facts and figures [last accessed 2 May 2017] 17 Ibid 18 Greece returns Parthenon fragment to Italy after loan, BBC news, 17 April 2010 [last accessed 2 May

2017] 19 British Museum, The Parthenon Sculptures: Facts and figures [last accessed 2 May 2017] 20 Christopher Hitchens, The Elgin marbles, 1987, p16 21 Jessi Stumpfel et al, Digital Reunification of the Parthenon and its Sculptures, 4th International Symposium

on Virtual Reality, Archaeology and Intelligent Cultural Heritage, 2003, p2 [last accessed 2 May 2017]

6 The Parthenon Sculptures

decoration.22 The Turkish garrison eventually surrendered and the Venetian general, Francesco Morosini, who had captured it, tried to remove the west pediment. Whilst in the process of removing part of the pediment, the cables holding a large piece of marble broke, shattering the stone. General Morosini left Athens with just the head of Apollo (now in the Louvre).23 The Acropolis Museum refers to this as the most fatal year for the Acropolis.24 The Parthenon then suffered further damage and loss.25

2. How did the British Museum acquire them?

In 1799, Lord Elgin was appointed British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in Constantinople. Athens was under Ottoman rule at the time. In 1801 he obtained a "firman"26 from the Sultan's ministers which, according to an Italian translation (the original firman has not survived), included the allowance that “when they wish to take away some pieces of stone with old inscriptions, and figures, that no opposition be made.” The Italian version of the firman is now in the British Museum.27 Lord Elgin’s interpretation of the firman has been described as “very elastic.”28 He removed more than half the surviving panels of frieze, most of the remaining figures from the pediment, and several metopes as well as items from elsewhere on the Acropolis site.29 Discussions regarding Lord Elgin’s rights, both legal and ethical, to remove the sculptures started almost as soon as he began removing them.30

Lord Elgin shipped the sculptures to his London home. Seventeen cases of them sank en route, with his ship Mentor, off the island of Kythera, but all were eventually recovered.31 Lord Elgin’s expenses were substantial, and his subsequent financial difficulties led him to negotiate for the sale of his collections to the British Museum.

In 1816, a House of Commons Select Committee on the Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Sculptured Marbles &c. was established to consider the authority by which Lord Elgin's collection was acquired, the circumstances under which that authority was granted, the merit of the sculptures, the importance of making them public property and their value as objects of sale. In the debate on the petition to set up the committee, disquiet was expressed about the manner in which Lord Elgin had obtained the sculptures and whether he had abused his status as ambassador.32 The Committee heard evidence to the effect that if Elgin had not obtained the sculptures for this country, they might have been removed by the French government. It judged the sculptures both fit for and worthy of

22 Ibid 23 The Parthenon Marbles – A Controversial Story, Exhibiting Context website, 9 October 2011 [last accessed

2 May 2017] 24 Acropolis Museum, Museum history [last accessed 2 May 2017] 25 The Parthenon Marbles – A Controversial Story, Exhibiting Context website, 9 October 2011 [last accessed

2 May 2017] 26 There are several slightly variant definitions of a firman. One is that it is a royal mandate or decree issued

by a sovereign in certain historical Islamic states. The Law Dictionary.org defines it as a decree or grant of privileges

27 British Museum, The Parthenon Sculptures: Facts and figures [last accessed 2 May 2017] 28 Christopher Hitchens, The Elgin marbles, 1987, p58 29 Eleana Yalouri, The Acropolis: Global fame, local claim, 2001 [last accessed 2 May 2017] 30 Ibid, p59 31 Kythera, then known as Cerigo, lies off the south of the Peloponnese 32 Parl Debates 1st series vol 32, c826

7 Commons Library Briefing, 9 June 2017

public purchase and recommended a purchase price of £35,000. That was less than half the amount claimed by Lord Elgin.33

The Committee’s Report34 was debated in the House of Commons. The debate reflected the arguments between those who thought the expenditure a waste of money, and those who thought Elgin had saved the sculptures from wanton destruction; between those who saw his activities as spoliation, and as an abuse of his status as ambassador, and others who justified his actions as interfering with nothing which was not already in ruins. The arguments of the opponents reflect some of the arguments put forward more recently for the return of the sculptures to Athens: for example, Great Britain holds the collection in trust, and such works always appear best in the places to which they were originally fitted. The House voted the money for the purchase by 82 votes to 30, and legislation was then passed giving effect to the recommendations.35 The collection was purchased from public funds and vested in the Trustees of the British Museum.36

The collection was moved to a temporary structure at the Museum in August 1816. A permanent gallery was constructed in 1835.

The sculptures are now housed, with other exhibits, in the Duveen Gallery. This was constructed for them in the 1930s, then restored in the 1960s following war damage.

3. Ongoing controversy As described above, there was disquiet from the very beginning about Lord Elgin’s action in removing the sculptures. The controversy continues to the present day.

Suggestions and formal requests In 1941 it was suggested in a parliamentary question that the sculptures be returned to Greece in recognition of the contribution made by that country to the war. Clement Attlee replied that it was not the intention of the Government to introduce legislation for that purpose.37 In the decades which followed, the question was raised again on numerous occasions both in and outside Parliament. The response of successive governments was that the sculptures were vested in the Trustees of the British Museum, and the government did not propose legislation to change this position. During the 1980s, whilst she was Greek Minister of Culture and Science, the former actress Merlina Mercouri added her voice to the campaign for restoration.38 The subject was also raised at UNESCO and at the European Parliament.

In October 1983, following support at UNESCO the previous year, the Greek Government made a formal request to the UK Government for the return of the sculptures. The request was formally rejected by the UK in April 1984.39

The Greek Government later made a case for a change in location, rather than a change in ownership. It argued for the return of the sculptures in order to reunite the collection,

33 William St Clair, Lord Elgin and the Marbles, 1983 34 House of Commons Select Committee on the Earl of Elgin’s Collection of Sculptured Marbles &c., Report,

25 March 1816 [last accessed 2 May 2017] 35 Cap XCIX of 56 geo III 36 Culture Media and Sport Committee, Cultural Property: Return and illicit trade, 18 July 2000, HC 371-I

1999-2000 [last accessed 2 May 2017] 37 HC Deb 23 January 1941 c319W [last accessed 2 May 2017] 38 The case for sending the Marbles back home, Times, 15 January 1983 39 British Museum, The Parthenon Sculptures: Facts and figures [last accessed 2 May 2017]

8 The Parthenon Sculptures

which would be displayed in a new Acropolis Museum. This case was set out in a memorandum to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee in 2000 as part of the latter’s inquiry into cultural property. The minutes of evidence give more detail.40

Possible legal action The possibility of legal action has been raised. In early 2002 the Lawyer reported that a legal, as opposed to political, claim for the return of the sculptures was being investigated.41 In 2010 Greek Reporter.com reported that legal action was going to be pursued.42 In June 2012, the BBC reported that a meeting of parties interested in the return of the Parthenon sculptures was divided on whether to pursue the return of the sculptures in court.43

In May 2015, it was reported that the Greek Government had both sought and rejected advice for taking legal action against the UK for the retrieval of the sculptures. The BBC said that Greece’s culture minister would pursue “a diplomatic and political approach” instead.44 More detail is given in 3.3 below.

Continued debate Debate about the future of the sculptures continues. In February 2011 historian Mary Beard stated:

the main difficulty lies in the much bigger issue of 'cultural property' in general. Who owns great works of art? Do monuments such as the Parthenon belong to the whole world? And what does that mean in practice?

…

Where do they belong? Is it better or worse to have them scattered through the world? Are they the possession of those who live in the place where they were first made? Or are they the possession of everyone? The likelihood is that we will be debating these issues for many years to come.45

In May 2012 Henry Porter argued in the Guardian that the sculptures should be returned to Greece:

...this is not to attack the British Museum...it is a plea that we be honest with ourselves about the presence of so many of the Parthenon sculptures in Britain...

(...) I have been going to see the marbles since studying art in the 1970s...in that time I have gradually come to feel uneasy about them. It's like being shown a collection of work by Picasso and Cézanne in someone's house and being told the paintings are stolen. It colours the experience, because the appreciation of great art cannot be illicit, and knowledge of a theft affects the way you see.

Perhaps we shouldn't be too precious about this – many works of art are acquired dubiously. But the Parthenon marbles are different because they were the height of man's achievement in the fifth century BC, and for about 2,000 years after that. They represent the core of Greek civilisation...

40 Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Cultural property: return and illicit trade, 5 June 2000, HC 371-II,

Q547-93 and Memorandum submitted by Greek government [last accessed 2 May 2017] 41 Julia Cahill, British Museum in legal fight over Elgin Marbles, The Lawyer, 11 February 2002 [last accessed

2 May 2017; registration required] 42 A. Papapostolou, New move for return of the Parthenon marbles with a legal challenge before the English

courts, Greek Reporter, Australia, 21 June 2010 [last accessed 2 May 2017] 43 To sue or not to sue? Parthenon Marbles activists debate, BBC news, 21 June 2012 [last accessed 2 May

2017] 44 Elgin Marbles legal action ruled out by Greece, BBC news, 14 May 2015 [last accessed 2 May 2017] 45 Mary Beard, Lord Elgin - Saviour or Vandal?, BBC history, 17 February 2011 [last accessed 2 May 2017]

9 Commons Library Briefing, 9 June 2017

(...) If you ask the people who argue passionately for retention when they last went to see the marbles, it is striking how few have been in the past five years. It seems to be simply a matter of patriotic possession to them, rather than any great love of art...

...the arguments concerning pollution and weathering [are] now redundant, because the Greeks have built a beautiful museum ready to house their heritage. A few fragments from the frieze have begun to trickle back to Athens but the Greeks await the bulk of Phidias's masterly work and their heritage.

The argument that restoration would set a precedent is also false, because there are very few works in the world that fall into the category of the Parthenon marbles, which inspire deep feelings of national loss and yearning.

To weigh the issue, you need only ask yourself if Elgin's behaviour would be acceptable today. Of course it wouldn't, and nor would we expect to keep the result of such looting. So why do we hold on to these ill-gotten sculptures now?...46

In June 2012 there was a debate hosted by Intelligence Squared regarding the Parthenon sculptures with Stephen Fry arguing for their return to Greece and Tristram Hunt (then an MP, now the Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum) arguing against.47

Further discussion is available on the Guardian website.48

3.1 Campaign groups in the UK In the UK, the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles (BCRPM)49 and Marbles Reunited50 are both campaigning for the reunification of the Parthenon sculptures.

The BCRPM website says that:

We are a group of British people who having considered the case for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles strongly support it and wish to campaign to achieve it.

The website also states that:

The British Committee, is not just a lobby group, but by force of demand, it has become a significant information center and contact point concerning the history of the Parthenon sculptures, their removal from the monument and the case for the return. This is all thanks to the substantial archives we have acquired over the years and includes the latest results of further research into the legality of the acquisition and the treatment of the Marbles whilst in the UK.

Marbles Reunited is:

a British campaign organisation with offices in central London. We co-ordinate a campaign of activities to promote the case for the reunification of the Parthenon sculptures currently housed in the British Museum, and commonly known as the ‘Elgin marbles’, with the remaining surviving sculptures in Athens, Greece. This campaign is based on the belief that the Parthenon sculptures are best seen and studied as a single archaeological collection in sight of the 5th Century monument they were once an integral part of, namely the Parthenon.

46 Henry Porter, The Greeks gave us the Olympics. Let them have their marbles, Guardian, 20 May 2012 [last

accessed 2 May 2017] 47 Stephen Fry's Parthenon Marbles plea backed in debate vote, BBC news, 11 June 2012 [last accessed 2

May 2017] 48 Parthenon marbles, Guardian art and design [last accessed 2 May 2017] 49 British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles [last accessed 2 May 2017] 50 Marbles Reunited [last accessed 2 May 2017]

10 The Parthenon Sculptures

3.2 UK Government position The position of Conservative, Labour and Coalition governments has been that the sculptures should remain in the care of the British Museum.

Conservative Government in 1996 The Conservative Government’s position was set out in a statement issued by the then Department of National Heritage in September 1996, that:

The British Government agrees with the Trustees of the Museum that the Sculptures of the Parthenon, displayed in a Gallery purpose-built for them in 1938, should remain there.51

Labour Government in 1997 Shortly after the 1997 election the Labour Government said that “The Government recognise that it would not be feasible to return them because they are the property of the British Museum.”52

Coalition Government The Coalition Government’s position was set out in a written response of 29 June 2010:

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will consider the merits of (a) loaning and (b) giving back to Greece the Parthenon marbles; and if he will discuss options for the future of the Parthenon Marbles with the Board of the British Museum.

Edward Vaizey: The trustees of the British Museum are responsible for the stewardship of the national collection and they do so independently of Government, in line with the arm's length principle. The trustees have undertaken to consider, subject to questions of condition and fitness to travel, any request for any part of the museum collection to be borrowed and then returned. I have no plans to discuss the Parthenon Sculptures with the trustees of the British Museum.53

The Coalition Government’s policy continued to be that “Issues relating to the ownership and management of the Parthenon sculptures are matters for the trustees of the British Museum.”54

It was restated in March 2015 in a letter to address the UNESCO mediation proposal (described below) :

The fact remains that the Parthenon sculptures in the British Museum were legally acquired by Lord Elgin under the laws pertaining at the time and the Trustees of the British Museum have had clear legal title to the sculptures since 1816. Neither the British Government nor the British Museum are aware of any new arguments to the contrary since 1985, when a formal Greek request for the return of the sculptures was turned down by the British Government.

…

In addition to the matter of clear legal title, a further relevant factor is that the Trustees of the British Museum are prevented by law from de-accessioning objects in the Museum’s collections unless they are duplicates or unfit for retention. Successive governments have indicated their support for this important legal principle, which is in

51 Department of National Heritage, 1 September 1996 52 HL Deb 19 May 1997 c142; see also HC Deb 20 May 1997 c45W 53 HC Deb 29 June 2010 c463W 54 PQ 122460, 19 October 2012

11 Commons Library Briefing, 9 June 2017

common with the legal obligations of all the UK’s major public museums and protects the integrity of the British Museum’s collections.55

3.3 British Museum position The Museum’s general position is set out in a letter of 26 March 2015 to address the UNESCO mediation proposal (described below):

The British Museum […] is not a government body, and the collections do not belong to the British Government. The Trustees of the British Museum hold them not only for the British people, but for the benefit of the world public, present and future. The Trustees have a legal and moral responsibility to preserve and maintain all the collections in their care, to treat them as inalienable and to make them accessible to world audiences.56

Earlier, its position had been given in minutes of evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee inquiry of 2000.57

British Museum statement The British Museum website has a statement on the sculptures, the first section of which says:

The position of the Trustees of the British Museum

The British Museum exists to tell the story of cultural achievement throughout the world, from the dawn of human history over two million years ago until the present day. The Museum is a unique resource for the world: the breadth and depth of its collection allows a world public to re-examine cultural identities and explore the complex network of interconnected human cultures.

Within the context of this unparalleled collection, the Parthenon sculptures are an important representation of ancient Athenian civilisation. Each year millions of visitors, free of charge, admire the artistry of the sculptures and gain insights on how ancient Greece influenced- and was influenced by- the other civilisations that it encountered

The Trustees of the British Museum warmly welcome the opening of the New Acropolis Museum which will allow the Parthenon sculptures that are in Athens to be appreciated against the backdrop of ancient Greek and Athenian history. The new museum, however, does not alter the Trustees’ view that the sculptures are part of everyone’s shared heritage and transcend cultural boundaries. The Trustees remain convinced that the current division allows different and complementary stories to be told about the surviving sculptures, highlighting their significance for world culture and affirming the universal legacy of Ancient Greece.58

Other Museum issues Other issues relating to the Museum as owner and custodian, both of which have provoked criticism, are:

55 Dept for Culture, Media and Sport and Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Parthenon sculptures in the

British Museum: letter to Assistant Director-General for Culture, UNESCO, 26 March 2015 [last accessed 2 May 2017]

56 Sir Richard Lambert, Response of the Trustees of the British Museum to the request put forward by the Greek Government that they should enter into a process of mediation, facilitated by UNESCO, on the subject of the Parthenon Sculptures in the British Museum, 26 March 2015 [last accessed 2 May 2017]

57 Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Cultural property: return and illicit trade, 8 June 2000, HC 371-ii, Q549-651 [last accessed 2 May 2017]

58 British Museum, The Parthenon Sculptures: the position of the Trustees of the British Museum [last accessed 2 May 2017]

12 The Parthenon Sculptures

• The cleaning of the sculptures in 1938. The detailed evidence of this is presented in a British Museum Paper of 2001.59

• The loan of a sculpture to the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg in 2014.60

Issues relating to other objects in the Museum, and to the loan of Parthenon sculptures held by other museums outside Greece, are also discussed below.

Cleaning in the 1930s During the life of the sculptures they have collected dirt and have been over-cleaned.61 They were cleaned in 1937-38; the cleaning process and alleged resulting damage added to the controversy in the 1990s. For some discussion see:

• Helena Smith, British damage to Elgin marbles 'irreparable', Guardian, 12 November 1999

• Jamie Wilson and David Hencke, Elgin Marbles 'cover-up' by museum, Guardian, 29 November 1999

• British Museum website, Parthenon Sculptures – 1930s cleaning

Other objects in the British Museum In March 2002, it was reported that the British Museum had sold some of its artefacts and that this could weaken its case for retaining others, including the Elgin Sculptures.62

In a written parliamentary question, John Barrett asked if the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport would list the items in the British Museum's collection that had been sold or otherwise disposed of since 1972. He received the following response:

Kim Howells: The Trustees of the British Museum are permitted by the British Museum Act 1963, Section 5 to dispose of items in the collection where they are duplicates or unfit.

The British Museum sold 21 duplicate prints in 1986 and a duplicate set of Hiroshige woodblock prints in 1995. Some 2,600 duplicate coins, medals and badges and 117 duplicate western prints have been exchanged for similar material since 1972. Two bronze plaques from Benin were exchanged for a unique bronze horseman in the style of the Lower Niger Bronze industry in 1972. A relic of cannibalism, judged unfit to be retained in the Museum's collection was exchanged with Fiji for a collection of prehistoric sherds in 1975.63

Rosetta Stone In 2003 Egypt began negotiations regarding the loan/return of the Rosetta Stone from the British Museum.64 Later, in October 2009, Egypt requested the loan of the Rosetta Stone after its success in having Egyptian frescos, which had disappeared from Egypt in the 1980s, returned by the Louvre.65 Some of the arguments for the loan or return of the Rosetta Stone are similar to those of the Parthenon sculptures. Firstly, the stone was

59 Ian Jenkins, Cleaning and Controversy: The Parthenon Sculptures 1811-1939, BM Occasional Paper 146,

2001 [last accessed 2 May 2017] 60 Elgin Marbles: British Museum lends statue to Russia, BBC news, 5 December 2014 [last accessed 2 May

2017] 61 Ian Jenkins, Cleaning and Controversy: The Parthenon Sculptures 1811 –1939, British Museum Occasional

Paper Number 146, 2001 [last accessed 2 May 2017] 62 Maev Kennedy, British Museum sold precious bronzes, Guardian, 28 March 2002 [last accessed 2 May

2017] 63 HC Deb 24 May 2002 c646W 64 Egypt demands return of the Rosetta Stone, Telegraph, 20 July 2003 [last accessed 2 May 2017] 65 Egypt asks British Museum for the Rosetta Stone after Louvre victory, Telegraph, 10 October 2009 [last

accessed 2 May 2017]

13 Commons Library Briefing, 9 June 2017

discovered by Napoleon’s soldiers and transferred to the British by the Treaty of Alexandria 1801.66 According to an article in the Independent, there is little or no record of the Egyptians being consulted about the removal of the Rosetta Stone.67 Secondly, the Rosetta Stone has been described as “the icon of our Egyptian identity", perhaps echoing arguments surrounding the Parthenon sculptures and their cultural significance to Greece.68

Some other examples of requests for the repatriation of museum objects can be found in a Guardian article of April 2012.69

Loans of Parthenon sculptures held outside Greece In January 2003, it was reported that a museum in Palermo, Italy, would return a 35cm square fragment of a Parthenon statue to Greece, on long term loan, in exchange for the helmet of Hieron.70 In 2006, a statement made by the Greek Embassy in Washington DC described the exchange as having “failed”.71 Another fragment was eventually loaned to Greece in September 2008. It was subsequently returned to Italy in April 2010.72

In November 2008, the Vatican also loaned one of its three fragments of the Parthenon to Greece on a one year loan.73 It was reported just after the Vatican’s loan that Dr Francesco Buranelli, chairman of the Vatican Museum, had suggested that “the new Acropolis museum can have a special diplomatic status, which can be managed by a group of specialists appointed by the European commission”. This would mean all the pieces of the Parthenon could be displayed in the same place but other countries which owned parts of the collection would keep legal ownership.74

In 2006 the University of Heidlberg transferred a piece of Parthenon frieze to Greece.75

The piece of freeze was reportedly exchanged for the head of a small statue.76

Loan to Russia In 2014, a sculpture was lent by the British Museum to the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, as part of the Museum’s stated aim to “make the sculptures from the Parthenon accessible to and understood by the widest possible audience.”77

The sculpture was that of the river god Ilissos from the west pediment of the Parthenon, and the loan the first of its kind; that is the first which separated the British Museum’s collection of Parthenon sculptures.

66 Google Arts and Culture, The Rosetta Stone [last accessed 2 May 2017] 67 The Big Question: What is the Rosetta Stone, and should Britain return it to Egypt? Independent,

9 December 2009 [last accessed 2 May 2017] 68 Ibid 69 Mike Pitts, Are the Parthenon marbles really so special? Guardian, 2 April 2012 [last accessed 2 May 2017] 70 Greeks use heads and feet in the battle for Elgin marbles, Times, 25 January 2003; Jeanette Greenfield,

The Return of Cultural Treasures, 2007, p90 [book preview last accessed 2 May 2017] 71 Embassy of Greece, Heidelberg Univ. to return fragment of Parthenon frieze to Greece [last accessed

22 November 2012] Also note that this article refers to the exchanging being negotiated in 2002 not 2003. [Unable to access 2 May 2017]

72 Greece returns Parthenon fragment to Italy after loan, BBC news, 17 April 2010 [last accessed 2 May 2017]

73 Vatican sends back Parthenon head, BBC news, 8 November 2008 [last accessed 2 May 2017] 74 The Vatican called for the Parthenon marbles to be returned to Athens, GR Reporter, 20 November 2008

[last accessed 2 May 2017] 75 University of Heidelberg, University of Heidelberg returns fragment of Parthenon sculptures to Greece

permanently, 11 January 2006 [last accessed 2 May 2017] 76 'No bid' to halt sculpture return, BBC news, 24 October 2006 [last accessed 2 May 2017] 77 British Museum, The Parthenon Sculptures: Facts and figures [last accessed 2 May 2017]

14 The Parthenon Sculptures

At a time when legal advice was being sought by the Greek Government, and the UNESCO mediation proposal was under consideration by the UK Government, the press reported this loan as a controversial move.78 Conflicting claims were reported as to whether or not the Greek Government itself would accept such a loan, if offered.79

3.4 Greek Government action In October 1983, following support at UNESCO the previous year, the Greek Government made a formal request to the UK Government for the return of the sculptures. The request was formally rejected by the UK Government in April 1984.80

The Greek government later made a case for a change in location, rather than a change in ownership. It argued for the return of the sculptures in order to reunite the collection, which would be displayed in a new Acropolis Museum. Its case was set out in a memorandum to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee in 2000 as part of the latter’s inquiry into cultural property. The minutes of evidence give more detail.81

In May 2015, it was reported that the Greek government had both sought and rejected advice for taking legal action against the UK for the retrieval of the sculptures. The BBC reported that Greece’s culture minister would pursue “a diplomatic and political approach” instead.82

In 2014, Doughty Street Chambers took steps to advise the Greek Government on:

legal avenues to further their claim to the Parthenon sculptures in the British Museum83

In 2015, the Chambers presented a report which advised the Greek government to take legal action.84 Broadly, it advised action through the International Court of Justice.85

This, and the subsequent decision of a new Greek Government, in May 2015, that it would not pursue legal avenues, was widely reported in the press.86 The new Greek culture minister is quoted as saying:

The road to reclaiming the return of the sculptures is diplomatic and political87

3.5 UNESCO mediation On 9 August 2013, the UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture wrote to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, the Foreign Secretary and the Director of the British Museum, in relation to a request put forward by the Greek Government. It was to ask for consideration of a request to agree to a process of mediation, to be facilitated

78 Parthenon marbles: Greece furious over British loan to Russia, Guardian, 5 December 2014 [last accessed 2

May 2017] 79 Ibid 80 British Museum, The Parthenon Sculptures: Facts and figures [last accessed 2 May 2017] 81 Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Cultural property: return and illicit trade, 5 June 2000, HC 371-II,

Q547-93 and Memorandum submitted by Greek government [last accessed 2 May 2017] 82 Elgin Marbles legal action ruled out by Greece, BBC news, 14 May 2015 [last accessed 2 May 2017] 83 British Museum, The Parthenon Sculptures: Facts and figures [last accessed 2 May 2017] 84 Ibid 85 Greece drops option of legal action in British Museum Parthenon marbles row, Guardian, 13 May 2015

[last accessed 2 May 2017] 86 Ibid 87 Ibid

15 Commons Library Briefing, 9 June 2017

by UNESCO, with a view to transferring the Parthenon sculptures in the British Museum to Greece.88

The UK Government responded on 26 March 2015, saying:

We have seen nothing to suggest that Greece’s purpose in seeking mediation on this issue is anything other than to achieve the permanent transfer of the Parthenon sculptures now in the British Museum to Greece and on terms that would deny the British Museum’s right of ownership, either in law or as a practical reality. Given our equally clear position, this leads us to conclude that mediation would not carry this debate substantially forward.89

The British Museum also declined the request, explaining that:

the Trustees would want to develop existing good relations with colleagues and institutions in Greece, and to explore collaborative ventures, not on a government-to-government basis but directly between institutions. This is why we believe that UNESCO involvement is not the best way forward. Museums holding Greek works, whether in Greece, the UK or elsewhere in the world, are naturally united in a shared endeavour to show the importance of the legacy of ancient Greece. The British Museum is committed to playing its full part in sharing the value of that legacy for all humanity.90

There was some support in Parliament for the government to accept UNESCO’s offer of mediation. Three early day motions called for the government to co-operate in the process, as did a number of parliamentary questions from Andrew George MP, Lord Tyler and Lord Dubs.

3.6 Parliamentary interest There has been continued Parliamentary interest in the possible return of the sculptures. A number of early day motions and parliamentary questions have argued for their return, and for acceptance of UNESCO’s offer to mediate. A select committee also looked at the issue in session 1999-2000.

Culture, Media and Sport Committee report (July 2000) In October 1999, the Committee announced its intention to conduct an inquiry into the return of cultural property. The inquiry would be concerned in part with measures to control the illicit trade in cultural property, but would also consider the policies of the Government and of publicly funded museums towards the accession, retention and de-accession of cultural property subject to claims for return.91 The Committee took memoranda and evidence from numerous witnesses, including the Greek Government.

The Committee’s report, published in July 2000, included a section on the Elgin Marbles which, it noted, was “a popular and convenient shorthand for the Parthenon sculptures from the Elgin collection in the British Museum.”92 The report summarised the debate but did not make any specific recommendations. It did say that:

88 Dept for Culture, Media and Sport and Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Parthenon sculptures in the

British Museum: letter to Assistant Director-General for Culture, UNESCO, 26 March 2015 [last accessed 2 May 2017]

89 Ibid 90 Sir Richard Lambert, Response of the Trustees of the British Museum to the request put forward by the

Greek Government that they should enter into a process of mediation, facilitated by UNESCO, on the subject of the Parthenon Sculptures in the British Museum, 26 March 2015 [last accessed 2 May 2017]

91 Committee decides in principle to conduct inquiry into the return of cultural property, Culture, Media and Sport Committee Press Notice No 31 of 1998-99, 20 October 1999

92 Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Cultural property: return and illicit trade, HC 371-I, 18 July 2000 [last accessed 2 May 2017]

16 The Parthenon Sculptures

152. The British Museum considered that it was not permitted under its current statute to engage in negotiations to return objects. This last point was endorsed by Mr Howarth. The introduction of any legislation to provide for the return of the Elgin marbles would be the responsibility of the Government. Mr Howarth indicated that the Government was happy to discuss the issue of the marbles. He considered any progress as dependent upon "a closer meeting of minds, a closer mutual understanding of each other's point of view."

It also sympathised with a view that attention to the issue of the sculptures might cause neglect of “the true complexity of repatriation issues.”93

Parliamentary material

Early Day Motions

In July 2016, Mark Williams MP sponsored the latest of a number of EDMs calling for the return of the sculptures:

That this House is aware that it took decisions 200 years ago this year which are now over time for review; notes that many of the Parthenon sculptures, controversially removed from Athens by Lord Elgin between 1801 and 1812 during the Ottoman occupation of Greece, were then purchased from him by the Government following a decision in Parliament in 1816, and remain on display in the British Museum, to which they were transferred by Act of Parliament also in 1816; further notes that, when presented with the facts, the UK public favours the reunification of the Parthenon sculptures in Athens with those now displayed in the purpose-built Acropolis Museum in the shadow of the Parthenon; and calls on the Government, working with the Trustees of the British Museum, to engage in a gracious act to reunite these Parthenon sculptures with those in Athens and with the people of Greece on the 200th anniversary of the purchase from Lord Elgin.94

In March 2015, Andrew George MP sponsored an EDM regretting the Government’s apparent decision to reject UNESCO’s offer of mediation:

That this House is aware that half of the Parthenon sculptures, controversially removed from Athens by Lord Elgin 210 years ago using a flimsy legal justification during the Ottoman occupation of Greece, remain on display in the British Museum; notes that, when presented with the facts, the British public favours the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles in Athens; further notes an opinion poll conducted by YouGov in October 2014 which shows only 23 per cent of the British public think they should stay in Britain; is further aware that the British Museum has abandoned most of its conventional arguments and now advances the novel concept of a universal museum; regrets the Government's apparent decision to reject the offer from UNESCO to mediate with the Greek government; and calls on the Government to reverse this decision and to demonstrate that Britain is prepared to express its standing in the world by engaging in a gracious act to reunite these British-held Parthenon sculptures with those now displayed in the purpose-built Acropolis Museum in the shadow of the monument to which they belong, the Parthenon in Athens.95

93 Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Cultural property: return and illicit trade, HC 371-I, 18 July 2000

[last accessed 2 May 2017] 94 EDM 317 2016-17, 12 July 2016 95 EDM 852 2014-15, 9 March 2015

17 Commons Library Briefing, 9 June 2017

Parliamentary Questions

A PQ in December 2014 concerned the loan of part of the sculptures to the Hermitage Museum:

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department were consulted by the British Museum about the loan of part of the Parthenon Sculptures to the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg.

Edward Vaizey: No. The loan of an item from the collection of the British Museum is a matter for the Trustees of the British Museum.96

In November 2014 Lord Tyler asked about the UNESCO mediation process:

Lord Tyler: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support the UNESCO mediation process to settle the dispute over the Parthenon sculptures currently held in the British Museum, under the rules set by the Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in case of Illicit Appropriation.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Government notes that the Intergovernmental Committee has invited Greece and the UK to consider making use of its mediation process with the aim of reaching a mutually acceptable solution to the issue of the Parthenon Sculptures. The mediation process is one option the Intergovernmental Committee offers for facilitating the bilateral resolution of disputes regarding cultural property and requires the consent of both parties concerned to enter into the process.

The Government is considering the proposal and will respond in due course. The Government is clear that the sculptures are legally owned by the British Museum who continue to provide access for all.97

Other questions about the Government’s support for the UNESCO process were asked by Andrew George MP and Lord Dubs in 2013 and 2014. A supplementary question from Jeremy Corbyn MP in October 2014 expressed support for returning some, if not all, of the sculptures.98

Private Members’ Bills

Museums Bill 2001-02

In February 2002, Edward O'Hara introduced a Private Members’ Bill “to clarify the respective responsibilities of trustees and the Secretary of State in terms of international co-operation and the exchange of cultural objects between museums.” Mr O’Hara illustrated the purpose of his Bill by referring to the Parthenon Sculptures.99

The Government’s position was restated by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, in answer to a parliamentary question on 7 February 2002:

Tessa Jowell: I received a letter from the Greek Minister for Culture, Mr. Evangelos Venizelos, in June 2001 to which I replied emphasising the importance of cultural connections between Britain and Greece. In connection with the Parthenon Sculptures I reminded the Minister of the position of Her Majesty's Government, which had recently been restated by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, namely that it is our view that the sculptures were acquired legally and that they are best housed in the British Museum in a multi-cultural context, seen free of charge by up to 5 million visitors a year.

It may also be helpful to be clear about the responsibility of the British Museum for the Sculptures. The Trustees have a statutory duty to protect their collections and this

96 PQ 217671, 11 December 2014 97 PQ HL2630, 17 November 2014 98 HC Deb 16 October 2014 c434 99 HC Deb 5 February 2002 c774-5

18 The Parthenon Sculptures

duty could only be over-ridden by primary legislation amending Section 5 of the British Museum Act 1963, relating to the disposal of objects in the collections.100

Mr O’Hara’s Bill did not proceed any further.

British Museum Act 1963 (Amendment) Bill 2008-09

In May 2009, Andrew Dismore’s British Museum Act 1963 (Amendment) Bill had its second reading.101 Its purpose was to:

amend the British Museum Act 1963 to permit the transfer of artefacts in the British Museum; to confer powers on the Secretary of State to require the transfer of artefacts in specified circumstances.

Mr Dismore further explained the Bill’s purpose:

...to change the British Museum Act 1963 so that the British Museum can transfer to another institution, for public exhibition, any object from its collections, in limited circumstances—where public access is guaranteed, where the object

“would be more widely accessible to visitors...than in the British Museum”, where it

“would be more appropriately displayed in the recipient institution than in the British Museum by reason of its historic links”, or because the object

“came to form part of the collections of the Museum in circumstances which make its retention in the collections undesirable or inappropriate.”

That is a general power, but I can think of only one set of objects to which it could realistically relate: the Parthenon sculptures. The time has surely come for the Parthenon sculptures to be reunited in the brand new museum that has been built on the Acropolis in Athens and is due to open next month...102

Mr Dismore later withdrew the Bill.

The Parthenon sculptures: a legal perspective

In 2012 Mr Dismore, by now a London Assembly Member and no longer an MP, delivered a paper at a London Colloquy organised by the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles and committees from other countries.

In this paper he discusses ownership, legislation, changing the law, drafting a bill, his own attempt at legislation and relevant extracts from the British Museum Act 1963.103

The British Committee refers to the paper in a press notice of May 2015 supporting the Greek Government’s rejection of litigation in favour of diplomacy. The press notice states that Mr Dismore “supports the reunification of the Parthenon sculptures” but that in his paper he explains “why he did not feel that a legal case would be successful.”104

Parthenon Sculptures (Return to Greece) Bill 2016-17

A Private Member’s Bill, the Parthenon Sculptures (Return to Greece) Bill, was introduced in July 2016 by Mark Williams MP.105 Its purpose was to:

make provision for the transfer of ownership and return to Greece of the artefacts known as the Parthenon Sculptures, or Elgin Marbles, purchased by Parliament in 1816; [and] to amend the British museum Act 1963 accordingly.

100 HC Deb 7 February 2002 c1106W 101 British Museum Act 1963 (Amendment) Bill 2008-09 102 HC Deb 15 May 2009 c1174 103 Andrew Dismore, The Parthenon sculptures: a legal perspective, Paper presented to London Colloquy, 19

June 2012 [last accessed 2 May 2017] 104 British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, Support for the Greek Government's

rejection of litigation in favour of diplomacy, 15 May 2015 [last accessed 2 May 2017] 105 Parthenon Sculptures (Return to Greece) Bill 2016-17

19 Commons Library Briefing, 9 June 2017

The bill was supported by a cross-party group of MPs. There was no government response to its introduction. It was withdrawn without a second reading debate.

Other Bills

The issue of the Parthenon sculptures was raised during debate on the Cultural Property (Armed Conflicts) Bill (HL) 2016-17.106

Issues of human rights in relation to ownership of cultural objects were debated at committee stage in the House of Lords.107

During second reading debate in the House of Commons, Brendan O’Hara MP argued for the return of the sculptures:

Brendan O’Hara: … While The Hague convention is specific to times of armed conflict, the work of protecting cultural heritage must also continue in peacetime. In the spirit of the convention, we urge the Government to take this opportunity to return the Parthenon marbles—the Elgin marbles—to Greece where they belong. The passing of the Bill and the ratification of the protocols give the Government an excellent opportunity to lead by example and celebrate the ratification of the convention with a highly appropriate and long overdue gesture.108

The Minister did not address the specific issue of the Parthenon sculptures but Edward Vaizey, the former Minister for Culture, responded to Mr O’Hara:

Edward Vaizey: … I am afraid he does this great convention and the Bill a disservice by bringing up the Elgin marbles. They were, of course, purchased legitimately in the 19th century. Not only that, they have been preserved to the very highest standards possible in the greatest museum in the world which, as my hon. Friend the Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) pointed out, is a world museum that is open to all, free of charge. The Elgin marbles are seen in pristine condition by millions of people. Indeed, they were recently loaned to Russia for even more people to see, which goes to show that the British Museum preserves the Elgin marbles not for any national self-interest, but for the world.109

106 Cultural Property (Armed Conflicts) Bill (HL) 2016-17 107 HL Deb 28 June 2016 c1475-542 108 HC Deb 31 October 2016 c697-742 109 Ibid

20 The Parthenon Sculptures

4. Further reading Acropolis Museum, Museum history Mary Beard, Lord Elgin - Saviour or Vandal?, BBC history, 2011 Mary Beard, The Parthenon, Harvard University Press, 2003 British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles British Museum, The Parthenon Sculptures: Facts and figures Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Cultural property: return and illicit trade, 18 July 2000, HC 371-I; HC 371-II; HC 371-III 1999-2000 [Report and proceedings; Evidence; Appendices] Andrew Dismore, The Parthenon sculptures: a legal perspective, Paper presented to London Colloquy, 19 June 2012 Elginism.com Kathryn-Magnolia Feeley, How the Greeks can get their Marbles back: the legal argument for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece, 2012 Christopher Hitchens, The Parthenon marbles: the case for reunification, 3rd ed (with revised preface), Verso Books, 2008 Ian Jenkins, Cleaning and Controversy: The Parthenon Sculptures 1811-1939, BM Occasional Paper 146, 2001 Alison Lindsey Moore, Looted art: the case of the Parthenon sculptures, Osprey Journal of Ideas and Inquiry All Volumes (2001-2008) Paper 34, University of North Florida, 2007 Marbles Reunited Michael J. Repas, Why don't we just sue the British Museum? A litigator's perspective on the Elgin Marbles debate, Barnes and Noble, 2012 Jessi Stumpfel and others, Digital Reunification of the Parthenon and its Sculptures, 4th International Symposium on Virtual Reality, Archaeology and Intelligent Cultural Heritage, 2003

21 Commons Library Briefing, 9 June 2017

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