Greece's prime minister has rejected borrowing parts of its own monument from the British Museum. Should the Parthenon Marbles return to Athens for good?
The British Museum Act 1963 stops the museum giving the sculptures away, so it can only offer a loan, and Greece says accepting one would mean recognising the museum's ownership. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has called it a matter for the British Museum.
What happened
In a Guardian article on 24 September, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called for talks on the Parthenon Marbles to be revived, with permanent reunification in Athens as the goal. He rejected British Museum director Nicholas Cullinan's suggestion that the Bayeux Tapestry loan from France could be a template, saying nobody would cut the tapestry in two and show half in each country. The sculptures have been in the British Museum since 1817, the 1963 act prevents it giving them away, and talks are reported to have stalled.
Why people disagree
Supporters of return say the sculptures are parts of a single monument, that Lord Elgin removed them under disputed authority, and that the Acropolis Museum was built to show them within sight of the Parthenon. Opponents, including the British Museum trustees, say Elgin acted with the permission of the authorities of the day, and that a loan like the Bayeux Tapestry deal lets the works travel without breaking up a public collection or changing the law.
What's still unclear
It is unclear whether any loan could be worded so that neither side concedes ownership, whether a UK government would ever back changing the 1963 act, and whether talks will resume at all.
Sources
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