If the two centuries of ownership crisis between United Kingdom and Greece, over controversial Parthenon Marbles, is resolved as a result of Brexit, hopes may appear on the horizon for return of artefacts of Nigerian origin incarcerated in the British Museum, London. Currently, what has been described as “a cross party group” of British MPs has reopened bid to return the Parthenon marbles to Greece as part of effort to keep healthy relationship with Athens after Brexit.
Also known as the Elgin Marbles, the objects, which include parts of sculptures and frieze from 2,500 years old of remnant ancient master pieces became subject of ownership tussle after the British government acquired them 200 years ago. The sculptures were originally removed from Parthenon, an ancient edifice in Athens by the seventh Earl of Elgin, Thomas Bruce, who was suspected to have ‘stolen’ the pieces from Greece during Ottoman Empire rule. But the then British Parliament disagreed that the marble pieces were illegitimately acquired.
And that the British Government, in 1816, used an Act of Parliament to officially take ownership of the controversial sculptures, perhaps, made it irreversible nearly 200 years after, despite Greece’s consistent request for the return of the sculptures.
In the last few years, ironically, there have been louder voices, among Britons, for the return and reunification of the marbles with their other parts in Athens. However, the legality of acquisition and return remained an issue, which the promoters of reunification seemed not to provide an answer.
But after Brexit, those who favoured return are back with argument that Britain needs as many as good relationship with individual EU countries as possible. So, the Parthenon marbles come as trading chips in exchange for Greces’s healthy relationship with the U.K.
Watchers of the unfolding battle for morality and ego have argued that should British MPs okay the return of the controversial Parthenon marbles, the revered British Museum could just be on its way to losing centuries of pride and value as a ‘universal’ house of culture; more countries are going to be emboldened to mount pressures on the U.K for return of their artefacts that have been on display inside the British Museum for centuries or decades. Among the leading spaces in the world, housing the most diverse artefacts across cultures – ancient and modern – is the British Museum. On the list of iconic pieces in the British Museum are Idia mask, in pendant and bronze head, from ancient Benin Kingdom origin.
A parliament member, Mark Williams joined by 11 other MPs had on July 11, 2016 presented a bill on the return of Parthenon Marbles. “This Bill proposes that the Parliament should annul what it did 200 years ago…,” Williams stated. He argued that “It’s time we engaged in a gracious act,” to right two centuries of wrong.In fact, the agitation already has a volunteer group. Andrew George, chair of the British Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures, added his voice.
“If we are about to negotiate a decent trade deal with our European friends, the last thing we want to do is to show the kind of raspberries and two-fingers that [Nigel] Farage was displaying in the European Parliament the other day,” George told a British newspaper, Independent. “And there could be no better demonstration of that generosity and graciousness than to do what would be the right thing by the Greeks.”
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