In an attempt to establish a “new relationship” with Greece, the British Museum is pursuing “realistic solutions” for the Parthenon Sculptures.
The announcement follows a significant intervention by Turkey at a UNESCO conference, where a Turkish representative claimed that no Ottoman document legitimises Lord Elgin’s removal of the ancient Greek sculptures.
“The British Museum acknowledges Greece’s strong desire for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures to Athens. We understand and respect the deep emotions involved,” a museum spokesperson told SKAI TV on Tuesday.
The museum seeks to develop a “collaboration for the Parthenon” and explore innovative cooperation with Greece to enhance the global understanding and appreciation of the sculptures, Kathimerini reported further.
The longstanding debate between Greece and the UK over the sculptures intensified when Turkey’s representative at the 24th UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation (ICPRCP) denied any knowledge of a written authorisation that allowed Britain’s Lord Elgin to remove large sections of the Parthenon’s sculptural decorations between 1801 and 1812, during Athens’ Ottoman rule.
Greece’s Culture Minister, Lina Mendoni while in Rhodes, reiterated that no Ottoman firman authorised Elgin’s removal of the sculptures, Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA) reported.
Following the comments from Turkey, Mendoni highlighted Greece’s commitment to reuniting the Parthenon Sculptures at the Acropolis Museum, calling it a national objective.
“As is known, one of the standing issues on the daily agenda in the last 40 years concerns the Parthenon Sculptures. This time also, the Committee ended with a recommendation that calls on the two sides, the British and Greek, to resolve this issue that goes back several decades.
“Greece is always open to dialogue. It has tried and will continue to try so that the great national goal – which is to satisfy the national demand for the reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures in Athens, in the Acropolis Museum – becomes a reality,” Mendoni said.
The culture minister also stressed, “I put this in quotes because this is an argument of the British side that has never, however, been proved to be genuine. There was never any Ottoman firman that allowed Elgin to treat the Parthenon Sculptures with the barbarity with which he treated them. At the session, the representative of Turkiye confirmed what the Greek side has argued for years – that there was no firman.”
