[Reader-list] The Elgin Marbles and British Arrogance!

[Lachlan Brown]

Yes, the story of the theft by 
the honourable Lord Elgin of the statues of the Parthenon 
in the early 19th century is the story of cultural 
appropriation. The British Museum is a repository for
plundered cultural artefacts from all over the world and 
it's in the interests of The British Museum to hang on 
to the statues and fragments as long as it can as there 
are many similar claims to the collection. The legal ownership
is complicated only because the modern Greek state did not
exist in 1816.

We have all had to deal with a specific kind of
English Establishment arrogance 'the most good - for whom? -
and those of us in or from Britain have had to deal with 
it for centuries. I'm afraid all of our institutions 
produce remarkable characters in office who appear to 
represent best interests of all while performing the worst 
policies. 

One hopes the English cultural Establishment does not have the 
monopoly on arrogance, though they have it honed to the state
of high art in cultural governance. The faculty of arrogance is
distributed  wherever there are uneven clusters or accumulations 
of power, wherever someone over-identifies with, or fetishises, 
the institution to which they belong, and it is most apparent 
where the basis of that power, identification or institution
is challenged.


Lachlan

> 
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2791877.stm
>  
> 'No return' for Elgin Marbles: 
> 
> The director of the British Museum has said that the
> Elgin Marbles should never be returned from Britain to
> Greece. 
> In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Neil
> MacGregor said the sculptures, which once adorned the
> Parthenon temple in Athens, should remain in London. 
> 
> He has also ended discussions with a British campaign
> group seeking their return to Greece. 
> 
> The 2,500-year-old sculptures depicting religious and
> mythological scenes have been held at the British
> Museum since 1816, despite ongoing Greek efforts to
> have them repatriated. 
> 
> 
> It is a very happy result of history that half of
> these surviving fragments... are in London 
> Neil MacGregor 
> Mr MacGregor, who became museum director six months
> ago, has issued a firm ruling certain to dismay Greek
> authorities. 
> He believes the sculptures can "do most good" in their
> current home, seen in what he describes as a broader
> historical context. 
> 
> He told the Sunday Telegraph: "I do not believe there
> is a case for returning the marbles. 
> 
> "It is a very happy result of history that half of
> these surviving fragments of these sculptures are in
> London. 
> 
> "They have a purpose here because this is where they
> can do most good. 
> 
> "The British Museum can situate the achievements of
> these Greek sculptures in the context of the wider
> world." 
> 
> 'Virtual' Parthenon: 
> 
> He wants the Greek Government to accept a
> computer-generated version of what the sculptures
> would look like back on the Parthenon. 
> 
> "The Parthenon can never be reconstructed so let's try
> and put together what's left of it virtually," he
> said. 
> 
> Late last year, Greece stepped up its campaign to have
> the marbles returned to their place of origin. 
> 
> Work has even started on the construction of a new
> museum at the Acropolis in Athens to house them in
> time for the summer Olympic Games in the city next
> year. 
> 
> That plan now looks unlikely. 
> 
> 
> Asked if he thought the sculptures should never be
> returned, Mr MacGregor said: "Yes. The British Museum
> is one of the great cultural achievements of mankind:
> it is very important that there is a place where all
> the world can store its achievements. 
> "Lots of people would agree that there should not be a
> special case for the Parthenon. 
> 
> "I personally don't see any difference between Greek
> visual culture and the visual culture of Italy and
> Holland, which is also spread around the world." 
> 
> Mr MacGregor's comments and decision to end
> discussions have also angered the British Committee
> for the Restitution of the Marbles. 
> 
> The group's chairman, Professor Anthony Snodgrass,
> said: "I would only be happy with a virtual reality
> version if they were put in the British Museum as a
> replacement for the originals." 
> 
> Diplomatic row: 
> 
> The controversy over the sculptures has a long
> history. 
> 
> They were first brought to London in the early 19th
> Century by British diplomat Lord Elgin. 
> 
> Athens first called for their return in 1829, after
> Greece won independence from Turkey. 
> 
> The issue has simmered ever since. In 1961, the then
> prime minister, Harold Macmillan, described it as
> complicated. 
> 
> Successive Greek Governments have exerted diplomatic
> pressure, but all efforts to repatriate the marbles
> have failed. 
> 
> Story from BBC NEWS:
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/entertainment/2791877.stm



Lachlan Brown

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