request to the Government of the United
Kingdom for the return of the Parthenon
Marbles to Athens, to be reunited with
the Acropolis and the remaining marble
sculptures. The Greek government
attained full support from UNESCO, the
United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organisation, which, since
1987, has included the issue of the
Marbles’ repatriation in every conference
of its Intergovernmental Committee
for Promoting the Return of Cultural
Property to its Countries of Origin.
The basis for the request for the
reunification of the Marbles is that they
are Greek sculptures, created in Greece
and are a vital part of Greek cultural
heritage and therefore should be returned
to complete the original work, allowing
viewers to see the piece as a whole
and for the continuation of complete
restoration. This may seem a relatively
weak basis for an official request, based
purely on subjective grounds, however
there is also a significant argument that
the original acquisition of the objects by
Lord Elgin was done illegally.
It had been documented that the Ottoman
authorities granted Lord Elgin full access
to the Greek artworks and to remove what
he wished so that it may be transported
to Britain. This permission was apparently
delivered by means of a firman, a royal
mandate issued by a sovereign, in this
case, the Kaimakan. The question of
whether the Ottoman Empire was in
a position to dispose of the artefacts
while occupying Greece informs current
debates but it is arguably the question of
the existence, let alone the validity, of the
firman that has resulted in the controversy
surrounding the Marbles, which is
potentially the longest ever standing
request of cultural heritage.
According to a memorandum submitted
by the Greek Government, the British
Museum currently holds 15 metopes
from the south side of the ancient temple,
56 reliefs from the frieze, 19 sculptures
from the two pediments, other fragments
belonging to the aforesaid units, a
column capital, a column drum and one
thranos. These artefacts amount to about
half of the sculptural detailing of the
original Parthenon building.
The UK Government denied the official
request for the Parthenon Marbles in
1984, refusing to debate the existence or
validity of the firman. The British Museum
has published, on its website, a translation
of the firman for Lord Elgin of an original
copy that has never been found.
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