Parthenon Marbles

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 23: Items from a collection of metal plaques and sculptures taken from modern-day Nigeria in 1897, commonly referred to as the Benin Bronzes, are seen in a gallery of African relics in the British Museum on August 23, 2023 in London, England. British Museum officials launched an investigation into the theft of its artefacts after discovering that stolen items, comprising of gold jewellery, semi-precious stones and glass valued at up to £50,000, were being sold on eBay for as little as £40. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

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Nigeria Renews Call for Return of Benin Bronzes Following British Museum Thefts

The safety and security of the institution's contested artifacts is again under even scrutiny.

By
Karen K. Ho
Aug 24, 2023 5:16 pm

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 23: A general view of the interior of the British Museum on August 23, 2023 in London, England. British Museum officials launched an investigation into the theft of its artefacts after discovering that stolen items, comprising of gold jewellery, semi-precious stones and glass valued at up to £50,000, were being sold on eBay for as little as £40. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

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British Museum Officials Were Warned of Thefts in 2021, Emails Reveal

A Danish art expert says he alerted senior officials about the thefts, but his concerns were repeatedly dismissed.

By
Karen K. Ho
Aug 23, 2023 4:06 pm

In a black-and-white photo, a classical Greek stone frieze extends along the wall of a building with loft ceilings. It shows men on horseback, their animals bucking beneath them.

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UK Government and British Museum Were at Odds Over the Parthenon Marbles, Declassified Documents Reveal

Recently declassified documents reveal that the government was dismissive of the British Museum's efforts to retain the Parthenon Marbles in 1983.

By
Francesca Aton
May 10, 2023 2:14 pm

VIENNA, AUSTRIA - DECEMBER 29: A view of deserted Kunsthistorische Museum - the Art History Museum as third partial lockdown imposed due to the pandemic allowing only shops for essential supplies to be open in Vienna, Austria on December 29, 2020. Most shops are closed, as are cultural institutions. (Photo by David Visnjic/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

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Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum and Greece Discuss Potential Return of Parthenon Marbles

A deal could involve the repatriation of two 2,500-year-old objects.

By
Tessa Solomon
May 3, 2023 10:38 am

A grand building of three or four stories with a much taller domed section seen on a cloudy day.

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Museums in Austria and Greece in Talks Over Return of Parthenon Pieces, Artist John Stobart Dies at 93, and More: Morning Links for May 3, 2023

Here's what we're reading this morning.

By
The Editors of ARTnews
May 3, 2023 9:21 am

The sculptures from the eastern pediment of the Parthenon.

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UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak Says No Plans to Return Parthenon Marbles to Greece

"The collection of the British Museum is protected by law, and we have no plans to change it," Sunak said.

By
Karen K. Ho
Mar 13, 2023 10:46 am

An older man in a black suit jacket and black shirt looks up with a slight smile as he holds black sunglasses in his right hand, with arms crossed. White architecture—many thin columns and a kind of fence stand behind him.

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David Chipperfield Wins Pritzker Prize, Vatican Gives Parthenon Fragments to Greece, and More: Morning Links for March 8, 2023

Here's what we're reading this morning.

By
The Editors of ARTnews
Mar 8, 2023 8:11 am

Parthenon sculptures of Ancient Greece, fragments which are collectively known as the Elgin Marbles at the British Museum on 24th August 2022 in London, United Kingdom. The Elgin Marbles are considered stolen goods by Greece, and has regularly demanded their return, while the Acropolis Museum, which houses the remaining sculptures, keeps an empty space for them within its current display. The British museum counters this, claiming that the sculptures were legally acquired by Lord Elgin following an agreement with Ottoman leaders. The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. It has a permanent collection of eight million works and is among the largest and most comprehensive collection, which documents the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present. (photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)

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Greece Rejects Possibility of Parthenon Marbles ‘Loan’ in New Statement

The Marbles, Greece said, "are the product of theft."

By
Harrison Jacobs, Tessa Solomon
Jan 6, 2023 1:31 pm

People admire the Parthenon Marbles inside the Parthenon Galleries in the British Museum. The marbles are also known as Elgin Marbles, with sculptures are artifacts of the frieze and the East Pediment from the Parthenon in the Acropolis of Athens. The marbles are displayed to visitors in the British Museum. The Greek government is in dispute with the British government and the museum, demanding the return of the marbles. London, United Kingdom UK on August 2022 (Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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British Museum Confirms Secret Talks with Greece Over the Return of the Parthenon Marbles

Last month, the Greek press reported that they been meeting for months about the contested antiquities.

By
Tessa Solomon
Jan 4, 2023 4:00 pm

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