Latest news with #ElginMarbles
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
George Osborne is negotiating a 'reciprocal long-term' loan deal that will send the Elgin Marbles back to Greece
George Osborne is negotiating a 'reciprocal loan deal' that would send the Elgin Marbles back to Greece. The former chancellor, now the chairman of the British Museum, is understood to be discussions with Greek government over a deal that would return the marbles to Athens on a long-term basis. As part of the deal, Athens would provide the museum with ancient Greek artefacts, many of which have never been shown in the UK. Importantly, the British Museum would not give up its legal ownership of the sculptures, which would require a change in the law. The deal is to hoped to come into effect later this decade when the British Museum closes for refurbishment as part of the upcoming redevelopment of the Bloomsbury site in London. Sources, however, have told the Times that no deal has been finalised and an announcement is not expected in the near future.. The marbles, also known as The Parthenon Sculptures, are a series of Ancient Greek sculptures created between 447BC and 432BC by Greek architect Phidias. After standing for 2,000 years, the Acropolis was for the most part destroyed as the Ottoman Empire - who at the time ruled Greece - became embroiled in a war with Venice. The remaining sculptures were removed from the ruins of the Parthenon by Lord Elgin, then British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, and brought to Britain between 1802 and 1812. In 1816, the marbles were handed over to the care of the British Museum, where they have remained ever since. Talks between the British Museum and Greece over the return of the Elgin marbles have been ongoing since 2021. A spokesman for the Prime Minister said that the 'care and management' of the sculptures was a matter for the British Museum and a long-term loan deal would not need explicit government approval. It has been claimed that, while Labour won't change a law that stops the British Museum permanently handing back the artefacts, Sir Keir would allow the 'loan' of some of the carvings to Athens. The fifth-century BC Parthenon sculptures were moved from Athens between 1801 to 1812 by the Earl of Elgin, when it was still part of the Ottoman Empire. The empire was crumbling at the time, with Greece securing independence in the following decades. The peer, who was the British ambassador, planned to set up a private museum before transferring them to the British Museum. Greece insists the artefacts were obtained illegally by Lord Elgin, but the UK is adamant that Lord Elgin had the permission of the Ottoman authorities. A 1963 law prevents the British Museum from permanently disposing of key items from its collection, although it would not stop a loan deal. It has been reported by the Critic magazine that Osborne has already agreed to give the Elgin Marbles to Greece as part of a permanent loan deal. Since the greek government still claims legal ownership of the sculptures, it was 'extremely unlikely that they would ever return to Britain', the report added. In responde, the museum said that talks has not advances sinc late last year when the PM hosted Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis at No10. A No 10 spokesman said also denied reports of an imminent deal. 'It remains the case that decisions relating to the management of the Parthenon sculptures are a matter for the trustees of the British Museum, which is operationally independent of the government,' the spokesman said. 'We have no plans to change the law that would allow the permanent loan of the Elgin Marbles.' When asked about the deal, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said she had 'never been someone who thought we should send the Elgin Marbles back'. A Greek official involved in the talks said the deal would need to see the marbles being transferred for an 'extended period; not 50 or 100 years, nor one or two years'.
Wall Street Journal
23-05-2025
- General
- Wall Street Journal
‘Frieze Frame' Review: The Case of the Parthenon Marbles
The debate surrounding the rightful place of the Parthenon Marbles, which were removed from the Acropolis, the site of the ancient complex of temples that overlooks Athens, by agents of Lord Elgin and delivered to London in the first years of the 19th century, is an old one—so old that its terms were framed by the poets Byron and Keats in the 1810s, soon after the Marbles' arrival in England. Keats's 1817 visit to the British Museum, where the Marbles had been recently installed, inspired his rapturous sonnet 'On Seeing the Elgin Marbles' ('My spirit is too weak—Mortality / Weighs heavily on me like unwilling sleep'). His companion at the museum, the history painter and diarist Benjamin Haydon, encouraged the British government to purchase from Elgin the portions of the Parthenon frieze that he had acquired, and it is not unreasonable to suppose Keats agreed. He returned to examine them 'again and again,' his friend Joseph Severn remembered, 'and would sit for an hour or more at a time beside them rapt in revery.' Keats's reflections on mortality were not merely for effect—his death, of tuberculosis, came four years later.
Irish Independent
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
George Clooney vows to ‘keep pushing' for return of Elgin Marbles to Greece from Britain
©Evening Standard Today at 21:30 George Clooney has reaffirmed his commitment to seeing the Elgin Marbles returned to Greece from their current home in the British Museum. The American Oscar winner and his lawyer wife Amal continue to campaign for ownership of the historical artefacts to be transferred to Greece.
Daily Mail
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
George Clooney says he will 'keep pushing' to return Elgin Marbles to Greece
As one of Hollywood's leading men, he has earned a string of glittering prizes for his commanding on-screen presence. But for more than a decade, one treasure has eluded Oscar-winning actor George Clooney after he waded into a long-running diplomatic row over the Elgin Marbles, named after the Scots nobleman who removed them from the Parthenon building in Athens. Now, Clooney has stoked the debate further after insisting that he and his wife, human rights lawyer Amal, will personally 'keep pushing until it happens', even though UK law prohibits their removal from the British Museum where they have been housed since the early 19th century. Amid delicate talks between the Greek government and chairman of the British Museum, George Osborne, over the future of the 2,500-year-old marbles, the actor declared confidently that they will head to Greece. In an interview with the Greek newspaper Ta Nea, Clooney reportedly said: 'They're going to come back. I know they are.' He added: 'My wife and I both have worked to get the Parthenon Marbles back to Greece. We'll keep pushing until it happens. There's no question about it.' The actor's comments mark a continuation of his outspoken support for Greece taking back the sculptures - a position he first brought to international attention more than a decade ago. During a trip to Berlin in February 2014 to promote the film The Monuments Men - a film about Allied efforts to restore looted Nazi treasures to their true owners - Clooney stated that the Parthenon Marbles should be returned to Greece. 'It is the right thing to do,' he said. The actor's comments drew criticism from then London mayor Boris Johnson, who suggested that 'someone urgently needs to restore George Clooney's marbles'. He added that Clooney was 'advocating nothing less than the Hitlerian agenda for London's cultural treasures', referencing Nazi plans to plunder the British Museum during the Second World War. Clooney later dismissed Mr Johnson's comments as 'too much hyperbole washed down with a few whiskies'. At the time, Clooney's wife was among a panel of experts advising Greece on possible legal options to pursue the return of the marbles. Their recommendation, detailed in a 600-page report, was ultimately not adopted by the Greek government. However, it was later published as a book under the title Who Owns History?, which Mrs Clooney called a 'powerful cry for justice.' She praised the work for laying out 'the case for reuniting the Parthenon Marbles in Athens once and for all'. Her husband's latest remarks are understood to have been made last week in New York, where Clooney is currently starring in the Broadway adaptation of Good Night, and Good Luck, the 2005 film he also directed and co-wrote. According to reports, Clooney recently told Janet Suzman-the chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles-that 'the Parthenon Sculptures must be returned to their original owner'. Earlier this year, Clooney wrote to Suzman, saying: 'There are a lot of historical artefacts that should be returned to their original owners, but none more important than the Parthenon Marbles.' Despite ongoing talks between Greek ministers and former Chancellor Mr Osborne, no solution to the ongoing dispute appears to be in sight. The British Museum is prevented by the British Museum Act 1963 from disposing of the artefact held in its collection, meaning it could at best offer Greece a temporary loan. Greece are unlikely to agree to that, as any loan would require a legal recognition of the British Museum's ownership. The fifth-century-BC statues have been housed in the British Museum since 1817 after they were removed from the Parthenon temple on the Acropolis in Athens by Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin, the then Ottoman ambassador. In an online statement, the trustees of the British Museum say that Elgin acted with the full knowledge and permission of the legal authorities of the day in both Athens and London. 'The sculptures on display in London convey huge public benefit as part of the museum's worldwide collection,' they add. The statement reiterates that the trustees have never been asked for a loan of the Parthenon sculptures by Greece, 'only for the permanent removal of all of the sculptures in its care to Athens'.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
George Clooney: I will keep pushing until Elgin Marbles return to Greece
George Clooney has called for the Elgin Marbles to be handed over to Greece. The Oscar winner has said he will personally 'keep pushing' until there is an agreement to send the 2,500-year-old sculptures back to Athens. Clooney has stated confidently that the Marbles will be sent to Greece amid ongoing talks between the Greek government and George Osborne, the chairman of the British Museum. Clooney told Ta Nea, the Greek newspaper: 'They're going to come back. I know they are.' He added: 'My wife and I both have worked to get the Parthenon Marbles back to Greece. We'll keep pushing until it happens. There's no question about it.' The remarks were made last week in New York City, where Clooney is currently starring in the Broadway adaptation of Good Night, and Good Luck, the 2005 film he also directed and co-wrote. The actor's comments mark a continuation of his outspoken support for the restitution of the Parthenon Marbles – a position he first brought to international attention more than a decade ago. Clooney first made his views on the Marbles public in 2014 during a promotional tour for the film The Monument Men. He said that returning the artefacts would be 'the right thing to do'. That same year, his wife Amal Clooney, along with a team of legal experts, visited Athens at the invitation of the Greek government to devise a legal option to pursue the return of the Marbles. Their recommendation, detailed in a comprehensive 600-page report, was ultimately not adopted by the Greek government. But it was later published as a book under the title Who Owns History?, which Mrs Clooney called a 'powerful cry for justice'. She praised the work for laying out 'the case for reuniting the Parthenon Marbles in Athens once and for all'. Clooney's calls for the return of the Marbles provoked a firm response from Boris Johnson, the London mayor at the time, who said that 'someone urgently needs to restore George Clooney's marbles'. Mr Johnson accused Clooney of 'advocating nothing less than the Hitlerian agenda for London's cultural treasures', referencing Nazi plans to plunder the British Museum during World War II. Clooney later dismissed Johnson's comments as 'too much hyperbole washed down with a few whiskies'. In 2021, Clooney reiterated his position about the artefacts, telling Dame Janet Suzman – the chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles – that 'the Parthenon Sculptures must be returned to their original owner'. Demands for the return of the Marbles to Athens, where they once adorned the Parthenon, have been long-standing. Despite ongoing talks between Greek ministers and Mr Osborne, no solution to the ongoing dispute appears to be in sight. The British Museum is prevented by law from disposing of the artefact held in its collection, meaning it could at best offer Greece a loan. Greece will not agree to this, as any loan would require a legal recognition of the British Museum's ownership, and the Greek government believes the Marbles were stolen by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century. The only solution would be for the UK government to change the law binding the British Museum, but Labour has no intention of doing so. In the first public intervention on the issue last month, Sir Chris Bryant, the arts minister, said the best Britain could offer Greece was a 'temporary' agreement. He said: 'Under existing law, it would be impossible for there to be a permanent or indefinite loan.' The British Museum Act 1963 makes clear that trustees have to retain treasures for the public, and ensure all loans are temporary. There have been efforts to rally support for repatriation within Parliament. John Lefas, the Greek millionaire, has attempted to organise this under the umbrella of the Parthenon Project. This project counts figures such as Lord Vaizey among its members, who advocate for a 'cultural exchange' between Britain and Greece which would see the Marbles traded for a rolling exhibition of other antiquities. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
