Elgin Marbles

This article is about the sculptures in the British Museum. For the 2006 book, see The Elgin Marbles (book). For other sculptures from the same site, see Parthenon Marbles.

Elgin Marbles
Parthenon Marbles (British Museum)
ArtistPhidias
Yearc. 447–438 BC
TypeMarble sculpture
Dimensions75 m (246 ft)
LocationBritish Museum, London

The Elgin Marbles (/ˈɛlɡɪn/ EL-ghin)[1] are a collection of Ancient Greek sculptures from the Parthenon and other structures from the Acropolis of Athens, removed from Ottoman Greece and shipped to Britain by agents of Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, and now held in the British Museum in London. The majority of the sculptures were created in the 5th century BC under the direction of sculptor and architect Phidias.

The term Parthenon Marbles or Parthenon Sculptures (Greek: Γλυπτά του Παρθενώνα) refers to sculptures—the frieze, metopes and pediments—from the Parthenon held in various collections, principally the British Museum and the Acropolis Museum in Athens.[2]

From 1801 to 1812, Elgin's agents removed about half the surviving Parthenon sculptures, as well as sculptures from the Erechtheion, the Temple of Athena Nike and the Propylaia, sending them to Britain in efforts to establish a private museum. Elgin stated he removed the sculptures with permission of the Ottoman officials who exercised authority in Athens at the time.[3] The legality of Elgin's actions has been disputed.[4]

Their presence in the British Museum is the subject of longstanding international controversy. In Britain, the acquisition of the collection was supported by some,[5] while others, such as Lord Byron, likened Elgin's actions to vandalism or looting.[6] A UK parliamentary inquiry in 1816 concluded that Elgin had acquired the marbles legally.[7] Elgin sold them to the British government in that year, after which they passed into the trusteeship of the British Museum. In 1983, the Greek government formally asked the UK government to return them to Greece, and subsequently listed the dispute with UNESCO. The UK government and British Museum declined UNESCO's offer of mediation. In 2021, UNESCO called upon the UK government to resolve the issue at the intergovernmental level.[8]

The Greek government and supporters of the marbles' return to Greece have argued that they were obtained illegally or unethically, that they are of exceptional cultural importance to Greece, and that their cultural value would be best appreciated in a unified public display with the other major Parthenon antiquities in the Acropolis Museum. The UK government and British Museum have argued that they were obtained legally, that their return would set a precedent which could undermine the collections of the major museums of world culture, and that the British Museum's collection allows them to be better viewed in the context of other major ancient cultures and thus complements the perspective provided by the Acropolis Museum. Discussions between UK and Greek officials are ongoing.[9][10]

  1. ^ Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
  2. ^ Jenkins 2016, p. 325, n. 1.
  3. ^ Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Select Committee on the Earl of Elgin's Collection of Sculptured Marbles. (1816). Report from the Select Committee of the House of Commons on the Earl of Elgin's collection of sculptured marbles. London: Printed for J. Murray, by W. Bulmer and Co.
  4. ^ Herman, Alexander (2023). The Parthenon Marbles Dispute. London: Bloomsbury. pp. 1–3. ISBN 978-1509967179.
  5. ^ Casey, Christopher (30 October 2008). ""Grecian Grandeurs and the Rude Wasting of Old Time": Britain, the Elgin Marbles, and Post-Revolutionary Hellenism". Foundations. Volume III, Number 1. Archived from the original on 13 May 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2009.
  6. ^ Beard, Mary (2002). The Parthenon. London: Profile Books. pp. 11–15. ISBN 186197292X.
  7. ^ "Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Select Committee on the Earl of Elgin's Collection of Sculptured Marbles, Printed for J. Murray, by W. Bulmer and Co., 1816". Google ebook. 1816.
  8. ^ "Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation Twenty-Second SessionParis, UNESCO Headquarters, Room XI27-29 September 2021DECISIONS". UNESCO. September 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  9. ^ Smith, Helena (3 December 2022). "Greece in 'preliminary' talks with British Museum about Parthenon marbles". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  10. ^ "British Museum says in 'constructive' discussions over Parthenon marbles". Reuters. 4 January 2023. Archived from the original on 1 December 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2024.