On March 13, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told reporters that the British government had “no intention” of returning the Parthenon Marbles to Greece, despite recent reports on the contrary. “The UK has cared for the Elgin Marbles for generations,” Sunak said, as first reported in The Guardian. “Our galleries and museums are taxpayer funded because they are a huge asset to this country,” Sunak continued. “We share their treasures with the world, and the world comes to the UK to see them. The British Museum collection is protected by law and we do not intend to alter it.
Sunak’s comments echo those of his disgraced predecessor Liz Truss and, further, Boris Johnson, who have both spoken out strongly against the repatriation of the objects, also known as the Elgin Marbles. THE antiques at issue include a number of metopes and seventeen pediment figures, as well as a nearly 250-foot section of a frieze depicting a festive procession celebrating the birthday of the Greek goddess Athena. All were removed from the Acropolis in 1801 by Thomas Bruce, the seventh Earl of Elgin, at the time British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, who allegedly gave him permission to do so. Elgin smuggled the marbles out of the country and sold them to the trustees of the British Museum, in whose possession they have remained since 1816.
Greece has actively lobbied for the return of the Marbles since 1983, arguing that the consent offered by officials of a regime that no longer exists makes no sense and that the objects were taken without the permission of the Greek people. . Their campaign has gained traction in recent years as museums have moved to restore looted objects to their rightful country of origin. The president of the British Museum, George Osborne, always resisted repatriation; instead, the institution offered the marbles to Greece as a long-term loan. This offer was rejected earlier this year by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. What further complicates matters is British Museum Act 1963, which imposes strict rules concerning the sale, exchange and disposal of objects entrusted to the country’s institutions. For the Marbles to be permanently repatriated, British ministers had to change the law. The Guardian reports that this is unlikely at present.
