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After 220 Years, the Fate of the Parthenon Marbles Rests in Secret Talks


When Lord Elgin, an English aristocrat, returned home from Greece in the early 1800s, he also shipped to England some of the greatest ancient treasures: a collection that included statues of the gods. Greek gods and carved reliefs depicting centaurs in battle once decorated the Parthenon. in Athens.

In some cases the walls of the temple were torn down, ostensibly with the permission of the Ottomans then ruling Greece, the so-called Elgin Marbles were later sold to the British government and became one of the most preserved artifacts in the collection of the British Museum.

But they also became, almost from the day they were scrapped, the subject of the world’s most infamous cultural dispute.

Since the time of Lord Byron, the Romantic poet, who was early to criticize their removal, the fate of the marbles has been hotly contested. The British say that the marbles were legally purchased and are best displayed alongside other artefacts in a global museum, while the Greeks treat them as looted treasures. foundation of their national heritage.

The debate has only deepened in recent years as the actions of the old empires come under new scrutiny, and compensation battles have challenged the foundations of Western museums. Pressure to return marbles has increased as museums have returned high-end items including Benin BronzeItalian antiques and other fragments from the Parthenon was just abandoned by the Vatican last month.

Now there are hopeful signals that perhaps a solution between the British and Greek Museums could be seen as officials on both sides have acknowledged that secret talks have taken place. But even if those revelations have stoked optimism that real progress will soon be made, both sides have made it clear that no deal is imminent.

Indeed, they remain far apart on some key questions.

Negotiations have been taking place in London since November 2021, between Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of Greece and George Osborne, Britain’s former finance minister and now president of the British Museum. In the seclusion of luxury hotels and at the private home of the Greek ambassador, the parties have been trying to reach an agreement on the marble’s future, according to two people familiar with the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity. discuss secret negotiations. One of those people had knowledge of the position of the Greeks; the other knows the British Museum.

According to both men, at some of those meetings, Giorgos Gerapetritis, a minister with no portfolio in the Greek government, acted as Mitsotakis’ representative.

How well the negotiations went is a matter of much speculation. An article last month in the Greek newspaper Ta Neareported on the talks, said they were “90%” done, citing “reputable” Greek sources. Bloomberg reported earlier this month that the parties had “closed” a deal and other optimistic accounts followed elsewhere. Under the proposal discussed, the Bloomberg article said, some of the monuments would temporarily return to Athens, in exchange for other ancient treasures.

But a deal is still much further away than those reports suggest, according to two people with knowledge of the negotiations who spoke to The New York Times. And in fact, in recent days, officials on both sides have spoken out publicly in an attempt to ease heightened expectations that any deal is imminent.

For his part, Mitsotakis has asked the British Museum to return all of the reliefs in its collection, some 250 feet of carved stone that once surrounded the Parthenon, a person with knowledge of the Greek location said. . Mitsotakis wants an agreement that those boards will stay in Greece for at least 20 years, the person added. There they will be reunited with other parts of the relief already on display in the Acropolis Museum in Athens.

The person said Mitsotakis hopes that, after 20 years, the agreement will be renewed so that the reliefs will remain in Athens.

The Greek side hopes to negotiate the return of the remaining sculptures at a later date, the person with knowledge of its location added. In exchange for the relief, the person added, Greek museums will provide the British Museum with a rotating selection of priceless artifacts, some of which have never left Greece.

The British Museum wants another deal, according to people with knowledge of its location. So far, Osborne has offered to return a small portion of the relief, as well as carvings of the gods and centaurs, as a short-term loan, the person said. This person added, the museum can provide up to a third of the Parthenon artifacts in its collection.

This person said that after Greece returns those antiquities to London, many more will be sent to Athens to replace them. Over time, the number of artifacts sent to Greece will increase, reflecting the growing trust between the two sides, the person added.

The British Museum’s stance is that it couldn’t offer more, even if it wanted to, said the person with knowledge of its location. Under British law, the museum cannot remove items from its collection unless they are “unfit to keep,” although they may be freely loaned to other organizations. The museum argues that Lord Elgin (name pronounced with a difficult “g”, as in “Helga”)) legally acquired the artifacts, after the administrators of the Ottoman Empire, which ruled Athens at the time, gave him permission. It also claims the sculptures are best presented among the museum’s global collectionsfor them to tell part of the broader story of human civilization.

If any agreement with the Greek government does not include a provision that the marbles must return to London, that agreement could be challenged in a British court. But any agreement would be written in a way that would not require Greece to give up its claim to ownership of the artifacts, said the person with knowledge of the museum’s location.

The British Museum declined to comment on the negotiations, but a museum spokesman acknowledged via email that they were taking place. The spokesperson said we are actively seeking new Parthenon partnerships with our friends in Greece and as we move into the new year, constructive discussions are underway. go out.

With an informal offer and an opposite offer on the table, negotiations have reached a stage “not seen before”, a person on the Greek side said. The person added that both sides are “negotiating in good faith”, but they do not expect more progress until after Greece holds parliamentary elections later this year.

Other major Western collections, including the Smithsonian Institution and the Humboldt Forum, in Berlin, have recently returned. high-grade dispute artwork, and the British Museum looks increasingly out of place. In addition to Parthenon artifacts, it houses an extensive collection of Benin Bronzes, claimed by Nigeria; The Rosetta Stone, which some archaeologists want to return to Egypt; and a statue from Easter Island requested by the Rapa Nui, the native of the island.

This year, the British Museum is scheduled to announce a major renovation that will include heating and roof upgrades, which could keep some galleries closed for extended periods of time. The project is expected to cost £1 billion, about $1.2 billion, according to a report in the Financial Times.

Leslie Ramos, founding director of Arteater, a museum consulting agency about fundraising, said in an interview that potential funders of the renovation “might want a concrete idea” of what the British Museum is doing with Parthenon artifacts before decide to contribute. For the museum, engaging in negotiations over the disputed items would “be a way to attract a new generation of benefactors,” she added.

Aside from the two sides’ differing proposals, there is another big hurdle: whether British and Greek lawmakers will accept a deal. The British government said last year it had no plans to change the law and allow a full refund of the marbles. On Wednesday, Michelle Donelan, Britain’s culture minister, told the BBC that returning the artifacts would open a “complete box of worms” and could lead to demand for other items in the museum. .

“Sending them back is a dangerous road,” said Donelan.

It’s also unclear whether Greece would accept the “partnership” or if that implies that the marbles belong to the British Museum. Sia Anagnostopoulou, a Greek lawmaker from the opposition Syriza party and the party’s spokeswoman for culture, said in an email that she opposes any deal that doesn’t make it clear that the marbles are assets. legal Greek property and that loan is unacceptable.

She said: “It is a matter of dignity for all Greeks, as well as for the British people, if they are asked to ‘borrow’ stolen pieces of Stonehenge temporarily.”

Legal experts and museum managers around the world are monitoring the situation closely.

Alexander Herman, director of the Institute of Art and Law in London, said: “If there is some sort of deal, it will be a great symbol for others seeking compensation.

Max Hollein, director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, said by phone that “the whole question about the Elgin Marbles is such a long and complicated story” that any solution “would be a important step for organizations and for cultural dialogue around the world”.

See you recently reached an agreement with Greece so that the New York museum could display a collection of Cycladic antiquities assembled by philanthropist Leonard N. Stern while acknowledging that the artifacts ultimately belonged to the Greek state. Under the agreement, the artifacts will move between the United States and Greece. Hollein said the Greek government is ready to negotiate creative solutions to restore ownership of the country’s cultural heritage, while allowing the items to be displayed abroad.

At the British Museum last week, the gallery where the marbles were displayed was packed with tourists, many taking selfies in front of the statues and frills.

Dilan Polat, 20, an art student sketching the centaur’s muscular body from one of the boards, said she feels “really blessed to be able to draw real Greek sculptures” the thing.” However, she added, they should return to “their rightful place” in Greece. John Lancaster, 59, a bus driver, said the marbles should return to Greece because they are part of that country’s history. “It’s like the jewels of the Crown,” Lancaster added. “If someone took those things away, you would want them back, wouldn’t you?”

Last year, a survey by YouGov, a polling agency, said 59 per cent of Britons believed that the sculpture belonged to Greece.

But public opinion doesn’t seem to be the deciding factor in the negotiations. Herman, the legal expert, says that every few years “there seems to be a glimmer of hope” in the debate over the Parthenon sculptures – but then the process stalls.

He said the same thing could happen now. But he added that both Mitsotakis and Osborne are “practical-minded” entrepreneurs accustomed to successful deals. “If there are two people who can sit in a room and solve problems,” Herman said, “it could be people just like those two.”

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