London, UK; July 2007
This is my sister Emma riding on my shoulders at the British Museum in summer 2007. She was five at the time and is now a big girl of seven and a half. We are standing in front of the Parthenon Marbles (also known as the Elgin Marbles) and our dad took the photograph.
Emma enjoyed our trip to the British Museum. It’s free – and has been since it opened in 1753 – so we didn’t feel obliged to spend all day there. We popped in and I gave them a potted highlights tour. We went to the Japan Gallery on the fifth floor to see the Samurai costume and swords – mainly because I was a volunteer guide in that gallery. Then we came back downstairs via the Egypt Gallery to show Emma the mummies, which she loved. And finally we saw the Parthenon Marbles and the Rosetta Stone.
I was lucky that she had fun because a few days later her mum and dad took her to the Victoria and Albert Museum in Kensington and this was not quite as much of a hit. Apparently she said to her mother: “Can you take me back when I’m older and like boring things?”
Parthenon Marbles debate
You may be aware of the controversy about the Parthenon Marbles and the fact that Greece would like them back. On the one hand, they are a precious relic of Greece’s ancient heritage and I can understand why the Greeks want them in them in pride of place in their homeland. On the other hand, the British Museum acquired the marbles many years ago – at a time when Greece was not looking after its ancient wonders. There is an argument that says that if the marbles hadn’t been taken to Britain for safekeeping, they would probably no longer exist. The counter-argument says that was then and this is now – Greece is now a modern, peaceful state and has built a special museum to house them.
The British Museum has legal title to the marbles in its possession based on the original sale to Lord Elgin but Greece disputes this and says the museum is in receipt of stolen goods.
The British Museum’s position is that the Parthenon Marbles are part of the world’s cultural heritage not just Greece’s and should be accessible to as many people as possible, held in multiple sites to allow many stories to be told. Most of the marbles are either in the British Museum in London or the New Acropolis Museum in Athens. But some are in the Musée du Louvre in Paris, the Vatican Museums in Rome, the National Museums in Copenhagen, the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, the University Museum in Würzburg and the Glyptothek in Munich. (This may change as Greece is pressing all of these institutions for repatriation). The Greek position is that the marbles are an integral part of its nation’s history culture and should be reunited in Athens so they can be enjoyed in one place. I can’t find an official crystallisation of the Greek argument but you may want to explore the website of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. You can also read about travel blogger Roberta’s trip to the New Acropolis Museum in Athens.
Everyone agrees that it would be impossible to restore the marbles to the Parthenon itself; they need to be in a museum. The question is whether they should all be in the New Acropolis Museum in Athens as Greece argues, or spread out among several museums allowing many stories to be told as the British Museum argues. I see it as a philosophical difference about the role of museums and antiquities in our culture, not a black-and-white moral argument.
Legally, the British Museum is not permitted to divest any items in its collection as it would be a violation of its founding by-laws. (This means they have a lot of stuff in storage!). However, a couple of years ago the museum did give the remains of Tasmanian Aborigines back to the descendants for burial. Legally a different principle since it was connected to the UK’s Human Tissue Act, but the precedent is there. One way around this would be the face-saving measure of loaning the Parthenon Marbles back to Greece, knowing that possession is nine tenths of the law and they may would never come back.
Giving the Parthenon Marbles back to Greece could have potential ramifications for museum collections all over the world. Personally I don’t think that you should have to travel to Greece to see Greek statues or to Egypt to see mummies – I am sympathetic to the argument that museums make the heritage of the whole world more accessible. However, I’m also sympathetic to the view that the Parthenon Marbles are a special case.
Wherever they are, I’m glad my sister and I got to see them. Even if she might not remember.
Edited on 28 January 2010 with more details and additional links.
So wonderful you were able to share that with her. My parents took us to Paris when I was three and my sister was one…she took her first steps in the Louvre! We don’t remember the trip except it is very alive in our family stories and grainy slides that get pulled out every few years. I think those early experiences shape who we become and that’s why we make it a priority with our children…travel, see, do things, even if they don’t remember all of the details it is all becoming a part of them. Interesting to read about the controversy. I wonder what will happen.
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Somehow I think she’ll remember that occasion. What fun!
And I agree with Dim Sum, those experiences are so important and become ingrained in our psyche, even if we forget the details.
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Looks like a fun excursion to a museum together! I’m torn on the debate, you are right, it’s nice to see antiquities from around the world in a single place, although I also understand why Greece would want and have a right to have it back ….
I would stop short of saying they ‘have a right to have it back’ as that has a legal meaning. The British Museum did acquire the marbles legally (they weren’t looted). I think you could say that Greece has a strong moral argument for having it back. – Caitlin.
I hope the Parthenon Marbles will stay at the British, my son and I enjoed to see them when we visited last March and it would be a shame if they were returned to Greece. He was also very impressed with the Egyptian Gallery and the mummies.
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Love the scale, those antiquities are big. I think the British Musuem gave back its collection of Maori artifacts back to New Zealand several years back due to some legal technicalities.
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Exposing little ones to art and culture helps shape the rest of their lives. Even if she doesn’t remember the details, it will help shape her mind. What an amazing and important experience.
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Hm. I’m a big believer in looking forward instead of back. Whatever the reasons behind WHY a certain museum has something, the situation today is that they DO have them.
What next?
When you visit the original site, it can be frustrating to see it empty and read a few lines that say that the original treasures are sequestered somewhere in a museum abroad. On the other hand, if everything in the world’s museums had to be returned to its place of origin then, as you say, that makes the world’s heritage very inaccessible.
These days, weird as this is going to sound, I think that replicas may be the solution. Keep the originals wherever they happen to be right now (in this case the Parthenon Marbles in the British Museum) and use the world’s brightest minds to create replicas for the original sites.
France has already done this with its prehistoric caves in Lascaux.
Just a thought;)
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That’s an interesting thought and one I’m sure has been discussed. That would be a lot of expensive marble though! – Caitlin.
It only needs to look like marble though…;) And, hey, you cut down on shipping costs!
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There are lots of reasons for the Parthenon Marbles to remain in the British Museum.
First, if we apply the rule to the Marbles, then we will see a good portion of work of arts migrating from one Museum to another. What would be the logic?
Second, I strongly believe that art is for mankind. Overall, there are far more chances to visit London once in the life rather than Athens.
Last but not least, I always admired British Museum policy to be free. I believe that this is really the greatest form of democracy one can imagine. Art should be for everybody, not only for the ones who can pay for it.
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Lovely photo and great story. Sadly my son did not enjoy visiting the Duveen Gallery. He loves going to the British Museum and he also enjoys going to Greece for his summer holidays and has a good friend at school that is half Greek and half English. Both boys were facinated by the story of Lord Elgin and the Marbles. Both feel that it would be good to send the marbles back to Greece.Having seen the surviving Parthenon Sculpture in Athens in the new Acropolis Museum, I understand that reuniting this specific work of art would be a generous example of cultural co-operation. Am sure that Greece can give to the British Museum other artefacts to exibit which are not fragmented but examples of Classical Greek art. We can then all enjoy the visits without the embarassment and the bodies with missing parts can at long last be reunited.
A good friend just visited the marbles and we agreed, MAN, they had a lot of nerve to haul those things off. The logistics ALONE… for the record, I think they should go back. Though I do agree — it’s a fine thing to be able to see wondrous antiquities without having to go to their homelands.
And this: Take me back when I’m older and like boring things? PRICELESS.
Nice summary, Caitlin.
Getting the name wrong in Greece is a good way to drop the local temperature to somewhere near Absolute Zero. I haven’t done it but know someone who has, and she got tongue-lashed by an infuriated Athenian local when she called them the Elgin Marbles (named after Lord Elgin who saved/heisted them and brought them to the UK).
It’s bemusing that the BM and the British government are still hanging on to the Parthenon Marbles – because it’s becoming such an international PR disaster. But I suspect, knowing Britain, the problem is a mire of bureacracy.
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I’m loving the comments. Great discussion – thanks for participating.
What a great trip for you and your sister.
I laughed about her take on the Victorian and Albert Museum!
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I think it’s a great idea to expose kids to culture when they’re young, though I wouldn’t begin to know what age is best to start with that. I know I remember little of my life before age 5. While we didn’t travel often when I was growing up, we did make some very memorable trips that have had lasting impressions on me (not the least of which is my love for travel!). Interesting discussion about the marbles. That was my favorite exhibit at the British Museum. If they were still in Greece, I would not yet have seen them. I think once you open that door of returning artifacts to their countries of origin, then you open Pandora’s Box. The reality is that many people won’t ever travel (for financial or other reasons), and museums will continue to be among their only exposure to other cultures. It would be a shame for that opportunity to be taken away from them. Then again, I also see where Greece is coming from…that’s a tough situation. Glad it’s not my decision to make.
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i am not trying to be rude but i think that the partaenon shold go back to greece because they took it they were suppose to take stuff from the ground but they ended up taking stuff from the parthenon and in london when lord elgin tried to sell it to the goverment he left it in a coal mine which was really damp so it ended up damaging the parthenon SO it should go back to greek