The Parthenon Sculptures and Cultural Justice

Abstract

From government and philosophy to art drama and culture, the ancient Athenians, as most everyone knows, gave future generations so much. Yet the pinnacle of their artistic achievement, the Parthenon, remains a damaged and incomplete work of art. 2012 marks the two-hundredth anniversary of the last removal of works of art from the Parthenon. That taking was ordered by an English diplomat known to history as Lord Elgin, and it reminds us that cultures create lasting monuments. But not equally. Cultures which remove the artistic achievements of other nations have increasingly been confronted with uncomfortable questions about how these objects were acquired. Nations of origin are increasingly deciding to press claims for repatriation of works taken long ago. They proceed through history mindful of the irresistible genius of their forebears have created and are unwilling to cease their calls for return. The majority of the surviving sculptures from the Parthenon in Greece now are currently on display in the British Museum in London. The Greek government and cultural heritage advocates, have been asking for reunification of these sculptures in theNew Acropolis Museum in Athens. Greece has offered a number of concessions, but the British Museum and the British Government have repeatedly refused to seriously discuss reunification. Mounting pressure on the British Museum, and the inescapable fact that the Parthenon was an ancient unified work of art both mean that the Parthenon marbles will either eventually be returned to Greece or subject to an endless repatriation debate. Here I offer a series of principles which the Greeks and the British Museum can take to jointly create a just return. Because the way the British Museum and Greece resolve this argument will have much to say for the future of the management of our collective cultural heritage. KEYWORDS:

Forensic Archaeometry Applied to Antiquities Trafficking: The Beginnings of an Investigation at the Frontiers of Knowledge

“…Second, there is the issue of repatriation. While the "Parthenon Marbles" case is certainly the standard bearer (Fincham 2013), the issue can be extended to include many other flagship pieces currently held by major European and North American museums that have been claimed by their countries of origin. To some extent, there is a certain overlap.…”

“…As has been noted (Nafziger 1983(Nafziger -1984, there is a moral obligation to return the objects that has not diminished; a separate issue is whether the will exists to fulfill it, and the idea that 1970 should be adopted with a binding nature as the limit for requiring the return of pieces is being spread with considerable self-interest. The dispute between the United Kingdom and Greece over the "Parthenon Marbles" inevitably comes up in this controversy, although other historiographical reasons can be cited to justify the continued presence of the set at the British Museum (Fincham 2013).…”

Forensic Archaeometry Applied to Antiquities Trafficking: An Investigation at the Frontiers of Knowledge

“…Second, there is the issue of repatriation. While the "Parthenon Marbles" case is certainly the standard bearer (Fincham 2013), the issue can be extended to include many other flagship pieces currently held by major European and North American museums that have been claimed by their countries of origin. To a certain extent, there is a certain overlap.…”

"Settled Completely and Finally": A Japanese Perspective on the Repatriationism of Cultural Property

“…Specifically, it is argued that the location of cultural property should be determined according to the intention of the original creators. 80 It is not self-explanatory, however, that the intention of the creators should be regarded as the supreme standard of justice derived from the 'original position.' According to Rawls, the 'original position' itself is not a goal to be realized but a "purely hypothetical situation characterized so as to lead to a certain conception of justice."…”