Did Greece Get the Elgin marbles back?

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Did Greece Get the Elgin marbles back?

The British Museum says it first received a request from Greece for the permanent return of the marbles in the 1980s. On its website, it says Lord Elgin received permission from the authorities to remove half of the remaining sculptures from the ruins of the Parthenon in the early 19th century.

Will England return the Elgin marbles?

In a 2021 interview with the Greek newspaper Ta Nea, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson rejected any possibility of the marbles’ return, stating that they had been acquired legally by Elgin. The British Museum maintains that it is the most qualified caretaker of the marbles.

Why does the British Museum want to keep the Elgin Marbles?

The British Museum argues that the sculptures in their collection should remain in London because there’s nowhere to house them in Greece and that the Greek authorities can’t look after them.

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Did Lord Elgin have permission to take the marbles?

According to the British Museum, Elgin was granted a firman (letter of instruction) granting him permission to take away the pieces… … “as a personal gesture after he encouraged the British forces in their fight to drive the French out of Egypt, which was then an Ottoman possession”.

Who really owns the Elgin Marbles?

ATHENS (Reuters) – Britain is the legitimate owner of the Parthenon marbles, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told a Greek newspaper, rebuffing Greece’s permanent request for the return of the 2,500-year-old sculptures.

Why did Elgin sell the sculptures to the British government?

The excavation and removal was completed in 1812 at a personal cost to Elgin of £74,240 (equivalent to £4,700,000 in 2019 pounds). Elgin intended to use the marbles to decorate Broomhall House, his private home near Dunfermline in Scotland, but a costly divorce suit forced him to sell them to settle his debts.

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Why should the British Museum keep the Elgin Marbles?

What has Greece petitioned the British Museum to return?

the Acropolis Sculptures
This campaign was created to petition the British Museum and the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to immediately return to Greece all antiquities held by the British Museum, under the collective title of ‘the Acropolis Sculptures’, which were illegally removed and exported from the …