Palermo Fragment

Fragment from a Parthenon frieze, known as the Palermo fragment, at the Salinas Archaeological Museum, Palermo

The Palermo fragment, also known as Fagan slab from the name of the artist and British consul Robert Fagan who owned it, is a 2,500-year-old marble sculpture fragment of the foot and dress of the ancient Greek goddess Artemis.[1]

The Palermo fragment was taken by Lord Elgin from the Parthenon in the early 19th century and given to the British Consul to Sicily in 1816.[2] For the past two centuries, the fragment had been kept at the Salinas Archaeological Museum in Palermo.[3] Greece's 13-year campaign for the return of the fragment ended on 24 September 2008, when Italian President Giorgio Napolitano delivered the fragment to Athens on a temporary loan.[4] This move was anticipated to strengthen Greece's request for the British Museum to return the Elgin Marbles.[5] In 2022, the fragment was permanently returned to the Acropolis Museum, where it has been reunited with the rest of the Parthenon frieze.[6] The Salinas Archaeological Museum in Palermo is one of three collections to have returned Parthenon fragments to Greece.[7]

  1. ^ Italy returns Parthenon marble fragment to Greece. CBC News. 24 September 2008. Archive.
  2. ^ "AFP: Italy returns long lost Parthenon fragment to Greece". Archived from the original on 2008-09-27. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
  3. ^ "Italy has returned to Greece the 'Palermo fragment' - XpatAthens.com - Daily news". Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
  4. ^ "Greece welcomes home Parthenon marble from Italy". Reuters. 24 September 2008.
  5. ^ "Italy returns missing foot to Greece". 25 September 2008.
  6. ^ Titi, Catharine (2023). The Parthenon Marbles and International Law. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-26357-6. ISBN 978-3-031-26356-9. S2CID 258846977.
  7. ^ Titi, Catharine (2023-02-15). "Debate: Sorry, British Museum, a loan of the Parthenon Marbles is not a repatriation". The Conversation. Retrieved 2024-10-03.