- Recent comments by a Turkish official have reignited a long-running dispute over Britain’s legal acquisition of the Parthenon Marbles.
- Greece’s culture minister sees these comments as supporting Greece’s claim that the sculptures were removed illegally and should be returned.
- These antiquities were brought from the Acropolis of Athens by Lord Elgin and are currently housed in the British Museum.
One of the world’s most complex cultural disputes is back in the headlines. a Türkiye Officials have cast doubt on the existence of evidence long held by Britain that it legally acquired the Parthenon Marbles, 2,500-year-old sculptures taken from the Acropolis of Athens.
Greece’s culture minister said comments made at a UNESCO meeting in Paris last week on the return of cultural property bolster Greece’s argument that the sculptures were illegally removed from the Acropolis’s Parthenon temple and should be returned.
The antiquities, also known as the Elgin Marbles, were removed in the early 19th century by Lord Elgin, who was Britain’s ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, which ruled Greece at the time, and are housed in the British Museum. in LondonGreece has long been campaigning for their return.
Diplomatic row over Parthenon marbles derails meeting of British and Greek leaders
The museum says Elgin removed the sculptures legally, as Ottoman authorities had given him an imperial order, or “ferman,” allowing him to do so.
Visitors look at sculptures that form part of the Parthenon Marbles at the British Museum in London on Nov. 28, 2023. One of the world’s most intractable cultural disputes is back in the spotlight after a Turkish official cast doubt on the existence of evidence long cited by Britain that it legally acquired 2,500-year-old sculptures taken from the Acropolis of Athens. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
But Zeynep Boz, head of the Turkish Culture Ministry’s anti-trafficking committee, told a meeting of UNESCO’s intergovernmental committee for promoting the return of cultural property in Paris that no such document had been found.
As the successor to the Ottoman Empire, “Turkey is the country that would have archival documents related to what was legally sold at the time,” Boz told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “Historians have searched the Ottoman archives for years and they have not been able to find any ‘firman’ that proves the sale was legal, as is being claimed.”
Boz said he felt it necessary to intervene during the UNESCO meeting, because a British participant had stated in his speech that the Elgin Marbles were legally purchased during the Ottoman era.
He said, “To remain silent would have been tantamount to accepting the British claim. I had to say: ‘We are not aware of any such document.'”
British Museum under pressure to return Parthenon artifacts to Greece
The only known extant document mentioning the royal order is the Italian translation.
However, Boz said it “carries no signature, no stamp, no tughra (the sultan’s official seal). There’s nothing to make it official. The document it allegedly refers to is nowhere to be found.”
Although relations between Greece and Turkey are often tense and the two countries disagree on a number of issues, including territorial claims, both countries seek the return of cultural artefacts removed from their territories, which are currently held in museums around the world.
Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said the comments bolstered Greece’s argument that Elgin removed the sculptures illegally.
“There was no Ottoman ‘decree’ allowing Elgin to brutally deal with the Parthenon sculptures,” Mendoni said Tuesday. “The Turkish representative (at the UNESCO meeting) confirmed what the Greek side has been arguing for years. That there was no ‘decree’.”
Mendoni said Greece was “open to dialogue” and would continue its efforts to return the sculptures, which have a place designated at the Acropolis Museum in Athens.
Although the British Museum is legally barred from permanently returning the sculptures, its leaders have recently held talks with Greek authorities about a possible compromise that would allow the sculptures to be displayed in both Athens and London.
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Those efforts suffered a setback in November last year, when a diplomatic row erupted over the marble pieces and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak abruptly cancelled a planned meeting with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
When asked about Boz’s comments, British Museum He cited a statement made at a UNESCO meeting in which he reiterated his desire for a “Parthenon partnership” to resolve the dispute, and said there was nothing more to say.
“The British Museum recognises Greece’s strong wish that the sculptures from the Parthenon in London be returned to Athens,” the statement said. “This is a question with a long history, and we understand and respect the strong feelings surrounding this debate.”
It added that it was “looking forward to developing a new relationship with Greece – a ‘Parthenon Partnership’ – and exploring the possibility of innovative ways of working (with our Greek friends), with the hope that understanding of the Parthenon sculptures will deepen and continue to inspire people around the world.”
