London, Thanasis Gavos

With the fixed official British position on the question of Sculptors of the Parthenon answered an official of the Ministry of Culture of the new Labor government to a parliamentary question on the subject, pointing out at the same time the discussion between the British Museum and the Greek government about “collaboration”.

The Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George posed to the Minister of Culture Lisa Nandy the question of whether she will have discussions with her Greek counterpart and with the administrators British museum regarding the return of the Sculptors from London to Athens.

He also asked whether the minister would proceed with a review of Britain’s acceptance of “legal title” to the Sculptures held by the British Museum.

Undertaking to answer, the Deputy Minister of Culture Chris Bryant it initially stated that “decisions about the care and management of museum associations, including the loan of objects from the collections, are a matter for the trustees of the British Museum in accordance with the British Museum Act 1963”. Mr. Bryant added that the British Museum is “operationally independent” from the government.

He went on to say that the government is aware of the talks that the chairman of the museum’s commissioners, George Osborne, has had with Greek ministers on the matter, “seeking constructive cooperation”.

He commented that the British government appreciates the international work it does British museum and welcomes the success of its collaborations, making special mention of its loan to a museum Ghana objects from the British Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum (three-year loan with the right of three-year renewal).

“Regarding the legal title to the Parthenon Sculptures, the removal of the sculptures was legal and well documented,” continued the British Secretary of State for Culture. “They were transferred to the British Museum in 1816 and have been the legal property of the British Museum, not the UK Government, ever since,” concluded Mr Bryant.

On the occasion of this response, the Times newspaper dedicates one of its articles today to the issue of the Parthenon Sculptures, speaking of “progress” and commenting that the new government “sensibly opened the door to a loan of the sculptures to Greece”.

The paper notes that the care of the Sculptors today should not be dictated by fruitless disputes over Elgin’s licence, but by “their status as institutional works of art”.

Noting that there is obvious value in exhibiting all the Sculptures together, the paper writes that the best for art lovers would be “a loan of the marbles to Greece”, without raising technical issues of ownership.

In Chris Bryant’s response and the report of talks by Mr Osborne about a “constructive partnership”, the Times detects a “change in tone” from the position of the previous government, which even created a diplomatic misunderstanding by canceling the Sunak appointment – Mitsotakis.

“It is a step in the right direction, towards a settlement that would advance Britain’s appreciation of antiquity and its place among its partners,” the Times article concluded.