Will the Parthenon frieze return to its place of origin?
The prospect of an imminent return of its coveted marbles to Athens, opened by a series of secret negotiations with the British Museum that were leaked last December, seemed to recede this week after the declarations of the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, who on Monday announced that he did not contemplate reforming an old 1963 law that prohibits the restitution or disintegration of works from the collection of the largest museum of civilizations in the world.
“The United Kingdom has cared for these marbles for generations,” Sunak said during an official trip to the United States, calling them “a huge asset” for his country.
"The British Museum's collection is protected by law and we have no plans to change it."
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Operation Parthenon: this was the secret talks in December to return the marbles of the British Museum to Greece
Despite his words, which seemed to close the door to any agreement, the dialogue continues discreetly.
The Greek Executive assures that it has not abandoned the "constructive negotiations" with the London museum after Sunak's statements, as confirmed this week by the seat of Government to EL PAÍS.
Contacted by this newspaper, the British Museum evaded giving details about the status of the talks, but referred, through a spokesman for the institution, to the words pronounced in February by the president of its board of trustees, George Osborne, former Minister of Economy by David Cameron, on the BBC.
“It would be tempting to do nothing.
But, to continue being the greatest museum in the world, things must change.
It's a difficult problem to solve.
but I think there is a way that these marbles can be seen in London and in Athens at the same time,” Osborne said.
“We are talking with the Greek government about a new agreement.
I am relatively optimistic.
It is better to try and fail than not to try.
The museum's number one thus accepted the version published by various Greek and international media, which since the end of 2022 had evoked the possibility of transferring a fragment of the frieze to Athens - between a third and a half, according to sources, of the part of which is in London—through a series of temporary and revolving loans that would guarantee that a fraction of this historical treasure can always be visited in the Greek capital.
In exchange, the Greek state would donate other important works to the British Museum.
Protest of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, in front of the British Museum in London, in 2021. Europa Press / Contact / Vuk Valcic
This fiery debate between the UK and Greece did not start yesterday.
Athens demands the repatriation of the marbles for four decades.
In 2009, the inauguration of the Acropolis Museum, created to protect the temple's sculptures from rain and pollution, reserved a space for their eventual reunification.
In its rooms, it is easy to distinguish the parts of the frieze that remained in Athens, which bear the mark of the passage of time, and those that were taken to London, casts of a nuclear target.
The perfect visual metaphor to reflect a conflict that officially began in 1983, when Greece first demanded from the United Kingdom the repatriation of this 160-meter-long set of marbles that wrapped around the inner chamber of the Parthenon in the 5th century BC.
For the Greeks, they were stolen by Lord Elgin,
Since then, this monumental frieze honoring the goddess Athena has been a symbol of national identity for Greece and also a puzzle for successive Hellenic governments, which have faced relentless denial from London.
Until, a few months ago, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsokakis, head of the new Greek right who came to power in 2019 and opposed its plunder since visiting the British Museum as a teenager — “it was like seeing the Mona Lisa split in two. ”, he told the
Financial Times
-, he launched a secret negotiation with Osborne, eager to find a solution to this eternal dispute since he became the museum's board of trustees in 2021.
respect for the law
The solution could now go through a third way: in no case a total restitution, which would imply a change in the law to which the
Tories
They do not seem to be willing, but neither is the immobility that has prevailed until today.
The biggest obstacle is the red lines imposed by each party.
For the British, respect for that rule of the sixties seems non-negotiable, even more so after Sunak's words.
A solution enrolled in current legislation would be preferred, such as a medium or long-term loan, which the museum would be authorized to consent to.
“We cannot force the Greeks to accept things that they find impossible, and vice versa.
We act within the law,” Osborne warned in February.
“To return all the marbles would require an Act of Parliament, which would be beyond my authority.
But what the museum can do is try to establish a new relationship with Greece."
“To continue to be the largest museum in the world, things must change.
There is a way that these marbles are in London and Athens at the same time.
I'm relatively optimistic"
George Osborne, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the British Museum
The problem, on the part of Athens, is that the word "loan" is anathema, since it would imply accepting that Greece is not the legitimate owner of the frieze, which would be poorly perceived by the public.
“Officially, the red lines haven't moved, but we don't know what's going on behind the lights.
Greece will never agree to give up ownership of the friezes, so they are looking for a legal formula that satisfies both parties," says Sophia Hiniadou Cambanis, advisor to the Greek Parliament on cultural policy, who does not believe that the dialogue has been interrupted. after Sunak's statements.
“The UK must be brave and facilitate the reunification of the frieze.
It is not necessary to enter the debate about who owns it.
It is enough to admit that this frieze belongs to the Parthenon and that there is no better place to reintegrate the work”.
In reality, a possible gesture from London would not be as disinterested as it may seem.
In recent years, the British Museum has been left alone in the debate on the restitution of looted works and objects, which has been increasing since the publication of the Sarr-Savoy report, commissioned by Emmanuel Macron in 2018, which advised France return to their former African colonies any piece of irregular origin that was claimed by their countries of origin.
Observed at first with great skepticism, this report, together with the social change of recent years, has prompted occasional but very symbolic restitutions both in France and in other European countries, such as the Benin bronzes.
Workmen unload a part of the Parthenon frieze before placing it on the wall of the new room dedicated to marbles at the British Museum in London, in 1961. Chris Ware (Keystone Features / Getty Images)
The new climate in favor of the “decolonization” of museums has added an additional dose of pressure for the British Museum, while other institutions began to send works back to their countries of origin.
And not only to the former colonial space, but also to Greece.
For example, the Salinas Museum in Palermo returned in 2022 a part of the Parthenon frieze that had been exposed in Sicily for more than 200 years, while the Vatican has just restored three more fragments by decision of Pope Francis.
Finding a solution to the problem would allow the British Museum to project an image of modernity and post-colonial justice that is welcome in these times, but also to seduce a new generation of philanthropists, especially Americans, who do not want to associate their names with institutions far removed from these causes.
electoral opportunism
Despite the movements, in Athens a certain distrust continues to reign.
“If the law is not changed, the British Museum can only negotiate a short-term loan, and that is not an acceptable solution,” says the president of the Association of Greek Archaeologists, Despina Koutsoumba, who agrees with the opposition. left.
“They have to return it as a donation, like the Vatican, or as a deposit with no deadline, like Palermo has done.
Whoever wants to reduce this matter to mere electoralism does more harm than good to the cause”, adds Koutsoumba, thus pointing to the opportunism of Prime Minister Mitsokakis, who is risking re-election in the July legislatures.
"If the Greek people trust us again, I think we can achieve this goal after the elections," said the prime minister, without excessive decorum,
Another source of pressure for London is a substantial shift in its own public opinion: 59% of Britons favor the return of friezes to Athens, compared with 18% who oppose that option, according to a 2021 YouGov poll. “The 1963 law has already been modified to allow certain returns, such as those of works stolen from Jewish families.
There could be some more, although the British Museum may have to feel even further behind on this issue to take a step forward, ”warns Janet Suzman, president of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, one of the many associations that They fight for this return in several countries of the world.
“It would be a necessary historical correction at a time when former empires are re-examining their colonial legacies and showing greater respect for the history of other cultures.
Ultimately, it's just a matter of decency."
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