Appendix 5 - R.D. Barnett's memorandum
STRICTLY PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL
To: The Director, The British Museum
From: Dr. R. D. Barnett
9th February 1984
The Cleaning of the Parthenon Sculptures
I first met John Forsdyke, then Deputy Keeper of Greek and Roman
Antiquities, when I was a student at the British School of
Archaeology at Athens in 1931-2. When I joined the BM staff in
1932, in department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities under
Sydney Smith, Forsdyke took some interest in me and caused me to be
appointed London Secretary of the British School. In 1934? Forsdyke
became Keeper of Greek and Roman Antiquities, in which capacity he
was heavily involved in the plans for building the new Parthenon
galleries financed by Lord Duveen, and for the new exhibition there
of the 'Elgin Marbles'. About this time I saved Greek and Roman
from some possible embarrassment by reporting to Forsdyke that I
had overheard a journalist boasting of a 'scoop' in interviewing,
without permission, their stonemason - a man called Fisher - about
restorations etc.
In spring 1935 I was sent out by the Trustees to assist in
Mallowan's excavations at Chagir Bazar in North Syria. I returned
to the BM in . At that time my department (Egyptian and Assyrian)
shared with the Greek and Roman department a storage space known as
the Carthaginian Basement. Here I often worked and was puzzled,
amazed and worried at seeing an elderly labourer who sat day after
day using hammer and chisel (to remove lime stalagmites) and wire
brushes (to remove the golden-brown patina) from the Parthenon
metopes and frieze slabs, which were solemnly trundled in to him
one by one. I wondered whether I should intervene here and pondered
long; but I felt much difficulty in thus interfering in another
department's affairs. After all, Forsdyke, though he had by now
become Director, must know about it since he had continued to
exercise close control over the whole Duveen Gallery scheme from
the Director's office. The matter, however was shortly afterwards
(how shortly I don't remember) taken out of my hands.
One day Sydney Smith, Mallowan and I were down there (I think)
at lunch-time when the 'cleaner' was out. Sydney Smith, noticing
what he had been doing, strode over, looked at his tools, and
exclaimed `Good Lord! Do you see what they're doing? They're
cleaning the sculptures with wire brushes!'
`Yes', I said, `and I don't like it', (or words to that
effect).
`Don't ever tell anyone what you've seen here today!' said SS
with great finality.
Of course we promised we wouldn't - indeed I kept my promise for
nearly 50 years: however at the time I took SS to mean that he
would accept responsibility and do or say whatever was necessary.
In the upshot, he didn't do anything till that day in October (?)
1938 when it was reported that the Duveen Gallery had been finished
and the metopes had been installed in the side galleries. What
happened next I only have from hearsay, not personal knowledge, but
I understood that Sydney Smith and Mrs. Gulbenkian were ushered
down to meet Forsdyke in the galleries and Forsdyke remarked of the
metopes: `They're looking very white, aren't they?', to which SS
was able to come back with a smart answer: `You know why, don't
you? They've been cleaning them with wire brushes!!'
The rest is history, though unpublished: heads rolled in all
directions, blistering reports were written. I heard Plenderleith
at the lunch club admit that the surface of the horse's head or
nose from the pediment on which the wretches had just got started,
had been partly removed to the depth of 1/16th". Certainly the
removal of all the patina from the reliefs and metopes was pretty
thorough and has (in my view) removed the top skin of the stone
into which the master sculptor finished off his work, and without
which the sculptures become dead and lifeless, like Roman copies.
The appearance of these once magnificent sculptures before they
were thus ruined may only be gauged now from an old publication.
Curiously enough, the only sculptures from this monument which
appear to have survived unscathed are those of the gods (who seem
to have saved themselves), the divine figures in the round from the
west pediment, and the relief showing the seated gods and goddesses
at the centre of the frieze. Perhaps they saved themselves.
Forsdyke sent for me and asked me why I didn't intervene. I told
him I had been forbidden. He asked me whether if I saw someone
murdering his wife I would not have intervened. I said the cases
weren't parallel and it was not for me to interfere in the affairs
of another department (which meant in effect questioning the
Keeper's and even the Director's control) especially when I had
been explicitly ordered not to do so.
I think Forsdyke forgave me, but not Sydney Smith with whom a
long and very bitter running war was now started, lasting till they
both retired in 1950 or thereabouts.
RDB
February 1984