London: Thanasis Gavos
The British Museum appears motionless in its attitude towards the request for reunification of Sculptures of the Parthenon in newer statements to SKAI.
Asked about the rationale behind the sculpture’s stay in London last week at a conference of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Commission for the Promotion of the Return of Cultural Property in Paris, Deputy Director Jonathan Williams, spokesman for the Museum, said:
“The British Museum strongly believes that the Parthenon Sculptures in London play a vital role in presenting the significance of ancient Athens within the context of the ancient civilizations that shaped it – Egyptian and Assyrian – as well as later civilizations inspired by it.”
The spokesperson continued as follows, reiterating some of Mr Williams’ statements at its committee meeting. UNESCO:
“No new discussion (about reunification) has taken place. We believe that the real issue we need to see is the expansion of public access to the Sculptures. The remaining Sculptures are fragments, only 50% of the original ones have survived. There will never be a ‘magic moment’ in which all the sculptures will be reunited. The sculptures that survive in Athens speak of the ancient history of this great city, (while) in London they address the history of the world and to millions of visitors from all over the world. Two complementary stories in which the Sculptures of the Parthenon play a key role “.
It is noted that during his presentation at the Paris conference, Mr. Williams had also focused on the legality of the acquisition of the Sculptures by Lord Elgin. At the same time, he claimed that many of the Sculptures were not forcibly removed from the Parthenon, as is the Greek claim, but were collected “from the ruins”, an argument that provoked the reaction of both the Greek state and the British Commission for the Reunification of its Marbles. Parthenon (BCRPM).
In statements to SKAI, the famous British historian Michael Wood, who is a member of BCRPM, had spoken of “false” and “outrageous” argument of the Museum.
“It is clearly clear that most of the marbles that Elgin took from the monument. You can not browse the British Museum today looking at them and think that these marbles fell from 40 feet into the rubble. “Most of the damage they suffered was in their removal by Elgin and his envoy, the Italian Lucieri,” Wood added.
The representative of the British Museum reiterated, once again, that the London institution “is always ready to consider applications for borrowing any items from the collection”.
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