-Advertisement-

-Advertisement-

Deal to return Elgin Marbles to Greece at advanced stage – reports Published

An agreement to return the Parthenon Sculptures – better known in the UK as the Elgin Marbles – is at “an advanced stage”, according to a Greek newspaper.

Ta Nea reports that British Museum chair George Osborne, the former chancellor, has been holding secret talks with the Greek prime minister.

Greece has called for the return of the iconic sculptures for decades.

The British Museum said it would “talk to anyone, including the Greek government” to find partnership.

The Parthenon Sculptures are arguably the most high-profile artworks in the increasingly contested debate about whether museums should return items to their countries of origin.

They were removed from the Parthenon temple in Athens in the early 19th Century by the British soldier and diplomat, Lord Elgin. The sculptures were then bought by the British government in 1816 and placed in the British Museum.

The marble figures are part of a frieze that decorated the 2,500-year old temple, made by the sculptor Phidias.

The Parthenon Gallery at the Acropolis Museum was built more than a decade ago to house the sculptures. The exhibition combines the original marble sculptures with plaster copies of those held in the British Museum and other foreign museums.

Tourists visiting the Parthenon in the Acropolis of Athens
MARCOS DEL MAZO/LIGHTROCKET VIA GETTY IMAGES The sculptures were originally created as part of the iconic Parthenon temple in Athens

According to the Ta Nea daily newspaper, behind-the-scenes meetings with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis first took place in London in November 2021.

Mr Osborne held “exploratory talks” with Mr Mitsotakis about the fate of the classical Greek sculptures at the Greek ambassador’s residence in Mayfair. He has since met the Greek foreign minister and the Greek state minister.

The paper reports that this week, while Mr Mitsotakis was in London, he again met Mr Osborne – this time at London’s Berkeley Hotel.

A Greek insider has told the paper: “An agreement is 90% complete, but a critical 10% remains unresolved. It’s hard to get there, but it’s not impossible. Significant progress has been made.”

In June, Mr Osborne told LBC “there is a deal to be done” over the Parthenon Sculptures, if both Britain and Greece “approach this without a load of preconditions, without a load of red lines”.

Head of a horse of Selene from the east pediment of the Parthenon. The Parthenon Marbles, are a collection of stone objects, inscriptions and sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles, displayed at the British Museum in London
REUTERS The works traditionally referred to as the Elgin Marbles are increasingly becoming known as the Parthenon Sculptures
Leave A Comment

Your email address will not be published.

You might also like
where to buy viagra buy generic 100mg viagra online
buy amoxicillin online can you buy amoxicillin over the counter
buy ivermectin online buy ivermectin for humans
viagra before and after photos how long does viagra last
buy viagra online where can i buy viagra