It is now around 200 years since the purchase of the so-called “Elgin Marbles” from Lord Elgin, by the British Parliament. The recent furor over the theft of valuable ancient objects from the British Museum has reopened the difficult question of the future of the Elgin Marbles at the British Museum.
It was in 1983 that the Greek government officially requested that the statues be returned to be re-placed in the Parthenon in Athens, in a new museum.
In 2021, UNESCO concluded that the UK government had an obligation to return the marbles and called on the UK government to open negotiations with Greece.
At the end of 2022, the British and Greek authorities resumed negotiations on the future of the marbles.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appeared to rule out any possibility of the marbles leaving the UK, when he said the UK had “taken care of the Elgin Marbles for generations” and that “our Galleries and our museums are funded by taxpayers because they are a huge asset to this country. We share their treasures with the world, and the world comes to the UK to see them. »
Mr Sunak insisted the British Museum’s collection is protected by law and there are no plans to change it.
However, recently appointed head of the British Museum, Sir Mark Jones, has previously said he thinks sharing the objects between London and Athens could be a good thing.
If all this seems far removed from us in North Norfolk, stop for a moment and think about what might happen to the collections in some of our heritage buildings such as Holkham Hall and Houghton House if there was a huge move towards the repatriation of works of art.
With perfect timing, the next Glaven Valley Arts Society meeting on September 19, 2023 will hear a brilliant talk on the Elgin Marbles.
This lecture, beautifully illustrated with specially shot slides and videos, will explore the aesthetics, history and heated debates surrounding these fascinating and controversial works of ancient Greek art: what do we mean by ‘the Elgin Marbles » ? How and why were they originally created? Why are they so popular? What happened to them between their creation and Elgin’s time?
How did he acquire them? Why are they now in the British Museum? And why are there such passionate opinions for and against their repatriation to Greece?
Our speaker, Dr Steve Kershaw, is a leading classical scholar who has traveled extensively in Greece and is the author of many highly regarded books – as well as being one of the UK’s finest jazz bassists.
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Later this year we have a wide range of fascinating talks planned, from the history of Monopoly (the board game we all play every Christmas, right?) to the music of St Paul’s Cathedral , through the untold story of Carry On. actor Peter Butterworth and his wife Janet Brown, TC’s first British female impressionist.
The Glaven Valley Arts Society meets for lectures on the arts and related subjects, once a month, on the third Tuesday from September to June. We meet at the Cley village hall where there is plenty of free parking.
Membership of TASGV costs £45 per year. New members are welcome and you can find out how to join on our website www.theartssocietyglavenvalley.org.uk
