The Parthenon Sculptures
The position of the Trustees of the British Museum
The British Museum exists to tell the story of cultural
achievement throughout the world, from the dawn of human history
over two million years ago until the present day. The Museum is a
unique resource for the world: the breadth and depth of its
collection allows the world public to re-examine cultural
identities and explore the complex network of interconnected world
cultures.
Within the context of this unparalleled collection, the
Parthenon Sculptures are an important representation of ancient
Athenian civilisation. Each year millions of visitors, free of
charge, admire the artistry of the sculptures and gain insights on
how ancient Greece influenced - and was influenced by - the other
civilisations that it encountered.
The Trustees of the British Museum welcome the building of the
new Acropolis Museum which will allow the Parthenon Sculptures that
are in Athens to be appreciated against the backdrop of ancient
Greek and Athenian history. The new museum, however, does not alter
the Trustees’ view that the sculptures are part of everyone’s
shared heritage and transcend cultural boundaries. The Trustees
remain convinced that the current division of the surviving
sculptures allows different and complementary stories to be told
about them and their significance for world culture.
Common misconceptions
All of the sculptures from the Parthenon are in the British
Museum
This is incorrect. Around half of the sculptures from the
Parthenon are now lost, destroyed over the last 2,500 years of the
building’s history. The sculptures that remain are found in museums
in eight countries including the Louvre and the Vatican, though the
majority is divided roughly equally between Athens and London.
The division of the Parthenon Sculptures is a unique case. The
sculptures can only be appreciated as a complete set
This is not so. Europe’s complex history has often resulted in
cultural objects being divided and distributed through many
countries. Bringing the Parthenon Sculptures back together into a
unified whole is impossible- half of the sculptures have been
destroyed.
The Parthenon sculptures now in the British Museum were
stolen
This is not true. Lord Elgin, the British diplomat that
transported the sculptures to England, acted with the full
knowledge and permission of the legal authorities of the day. Lord
Elgin’s activities were thoroughly investigated by a Parliamentary
Select Committee in 1816 and found to be entirely legal. Following
a vote of Parliament, the British Museum was allocated funds to
acquire the collection.
The sculptures could be reunited on the Parthenon
This is not possible. Though partially reconstructed, the
Parthenon is a ruin. It is universally recognised that the
sculptures that still exist could never be safely returned to the
building: they are best seen and conserved in museums.
The Greek government has asked for a loan of the sculptures
which has been turned down by the British Museum
The Trustees have never been asked for a loan of the Parthenon
Sculptures, only for the permanent return of all of the sculptures
to Athens.
The Trustees will consider (subject to the usual considerations
of condition and fitness to travel) any request for any part of the
collection to be borrowed and then returned. The simple
precondition is that the borrowing institution acknowledges the
British Museum’s ownership of the object. The Trustees frequently
lend objects from the collection to museums all around the world,
including Greece. In the last year alone they have lent 4,400
objects to hundreds of museums worldwide.
Successive Greek governments have refused to recognise the
Trustees’ unquestionable legal ownership of the Parthenon
Sculptures. This has made any meaningful discussion on the issue
virtually impossible.
The British Museum claims that the sculptures can’t be looked
after in Athens
This is not true. Our colleagues in Athens are, of course, able
to conserve and preserve the material in their care and we enjoy
friendly and constructive relations with them.
The British Museum claims there is nowhere to see the
sculptures in Athens
The British Museum has never argued that there is nowhere to see
the sculptures in Athens. Many of the Parthenon Sculptures in
Athens have been on display at the old Acropolis Museum. The
question is not that the sculptures cannot be seen in Athens, but
that the British Museum Trustees feel there is great value in some
of them being seen in London within the context of the British
Museum’s worldwide collections.
The matter could be solved by the British Museum setting up an
outpost in Athens
This is not so. The Trustees of the British Museum believe that
the sculptures need to continue to be seen within the context of
the world collection of the British Museum, in order to deepen our
understanding of their significance within world cultural history.
This provides the ideal complement to the new Acropolis Museum,
where the Parthenon Sculptures in Athens will be seen within the
context of ancient Greek and Athenian history. Both museums
together allow the fullest appreciation of the meaning and
importance of the Parthenon Sculptures and maximise the number of
people that can appreciate them.