[News] Should the United Kingdom Give Back the Elgin Marbles?

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Cowfold Seagull

Cowfold Seagull

Fan of the 17 bus
Apr 22, 2009
22,317
Cowfold
Well should be?

Thread instigated by the Should the United States Give Back the Statue of Liberty discussion . . . obviously.

In terms of the marbles, it's a resounding YES from me by the way.
 
















Nobby Cybergoat

Nobby Cybergoat

Well-known member
Jul 19, 2021
9,841
Yes, on the grounds that we nicked them

But the problem is we nicked a whole lot of other stuff as well, so we'd probably have to be prepared to be giving away 90% of the British museum over the coming decades
 






Dick Swiveller

Dick Swiveller

Well-known member
Sep 9, 2011
9,928
Needs to play them for it. But too many regional rules so need them sorting ahead of time. Do Red, White and Blues need hitting twice? Can you use the big ones? Are we playing drainsies? Are we playing for keepsies or quitsies? Don't think we should allow steelies.
 


Dave the OAP

Dave the OAP

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
47,175
at home
When the Turks sold bits of the Parthenon frieze to Lord Elgin, it was one transaction amongst many of antiquities from all over the world. The frieze itself was never seen by the public, as it was on the inside of the the Parthenon ( Athena’s temple) and was basically a decoration which represented a parade of Athenian citizens.

i waffle on because it was never seen as a great treasure ( even Pausanias the Roman travel writer didn’t mention it in his journal of the treasures of the Hellenic world and he wrote a lot about the Parthenon.)

that said, it has become a symbol of Greece being stripped of its antiquities….there are far more important examples of Hellenic temples in museums around the world, that far outstrip the frieze.

personally I have no problem giving it back, BUT at what point do you stop? Do you strip out every museum in the world of its “ treasures” ? The Louvre and Berlin museums have as many antiquities as the BM, as does the ashmolean in Oxford and the new york museum of arts….even the fantastic National Museum in Naples has magnificent Roman bits and bobs from pompeii etc…BUT they have nationally important Hellenic pots and votive vases etc that should be returned if we are going down that route.

long winded reply but this is not just about the Nasty f***ing english stripping the world of its treasures
 


Pavilionaire

Pavilionaire

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2003
31,585
I don't think we should stop at the Elgin Marbles. We should also return the Koh-i-Noor diamond, the Stone of Scone, empty out the British Museum of plundered Egyptian artefacts, get rid of the House of Lords, the monarchy, the current honours system, return the land to the people and dump this monarchical and colonial baggage that has been holding this country back for far too long.
 




Eeyore

Eeyore

Munching grass in Queen's Park
NSC Patron
Apr 5, 2014
28,133
Yes, they have devalued. An Elgin Marble is barely worth a biggy and certainly not worth a pearly. My nephew was having none of it the other day and it was still first to three on the drain cover. No handicap.
 




Guy Fawkes

Guy Fawkes

The voice of treason
Sep 29, 2007
8,380
As they were deemed to be legally purchased from the powers that be in Greece at the time, then surely giving them back means that people could demand anything back that has also been legitimately purchased, and overturning that would open up a massive can of worms.

If there is anything else that someone suddenly decides they want back, does it make it right that they should get it back too if they go ahead and return the marbles despite it being sold before and someone legally buying it? & how many things sold over the years by anyone to anyone would be potentially affected by this precedence? - with potentially any contracts and purchases being declared null and void ?

How far would that go, say if you buy a significant artwork, or other significant item and then several years / decades later the old owners (or old owners descendants) demand it is returned to them, should it have to be returned too, or are the new owners legally entitled to keep it?
 




L

Lenny Rider

Well-known member
Sep 15, 2010
6,419
What about the Nazi Gold allegedly sitting in the Swiss Bank vaults?

Could that not go to the Anne Frank Foundation or another Holocaust based good cause?
 




beorhthelm

beorhthelm

A. Virgo, Football Genius
Jul 21, 2003
36,434
only if every other country returns every single artefact collected, loaned or pilfered.
 








H

Han Solo

Well-known member
May 25, 2024
4,466
Naah you keep that dusty old junk
 


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