"an increased interest in classical Greece, and in June 1816, after parliamentary hearings, the House of Commons offered £35,000 in exchange for the sculptures. Even at the time the acquisition inspired much debate, although it was supported by ""many persuasive calls"" for the purchase. Lord Byron strongly objected to the removal of the marbles from Greece, denouncing Elgin as a vandal. His point of view about the removal of the Marbles from Athens is also mentioned in his narrative poem ""Childe Harold's Pilgrimage"", published in 1812, which itself was largely inspired by Byron's travels around the Mediterranean and the Aegean"
"Cambridge, Oxford, East Anglia, Royal Holloway, Birmingham, King’s College and the London School of Economics, and two Greek Studies Centres, at the universities of Bristol and Reading. A source of tension between the UK and the Greece is the dispute over the ownership of the Elgin Marbles, a collection of Classical Greek marble sculptures, inscriptions and architectural pieces that originally were part of the temple of Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens. Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin was given written permission by the then government of Greece to remove the Marbles between 1801 and 1812"
"regarded by the country of origin as national treasures, there are numerous cases where artworks (often displayed in the acquiring country for decades) have become the subject of highly charged and political controversy. One prominent example is the case of the Elgin Marbles, which were moved from Greece to the British Museum in 1816 by Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin. Many different Greek governments have maintained that removal was tantamount to theft. Similar controversies have arisen over Etruscan, Aztec, and Italian artworks, with advocates of the originating countries generally alleging that the removal of artifacts is a pernicious form"
"resulting explosion severely damaged the Parthenon and its sculptures. From 1800 to 1803, Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin removed some of the surviving sculptures with the alleged permission of the Turks of the Ottoman Empire. These sculptures, now known as the Elgin Marbles or the Parthenon Marbles, were sold in 1816 to the British Museum in London, where they are now displayed. Since 1983 (on the initiative of Culture Minister Melina Mercouri), the Greek government has been committed to the return of the sculptures to Greece. The origin of the Parthenon's name is from the Greek word παρθενών (""parthenon""),"
"while some others, such as Lord Byron, likened the Earl's actions to vandalism or looting. Following a public debate in Parliament and its subsequent exoneration of Elgin, he sold the Marbles to the British government in 1816. They were then passed to the British Museum, where they are now on display in the purpose-built Duveen Gallery. After gaining its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1832, the newly found Greek state began a series of projects to restore its monuments and retrieve looted art. It has expressed its disapproval of Elgin's removal of the Marbles from the Acropolis and the"
"and transported them by sea to Great Britain. In Britain, the acquisition of the collection was supported by many, while others likened Elgin's actions to vandalism . The Marbles are currently held in the collection of the British Museum. After gaining its independence from the Ottoman Empire, Greece began major projects for the restoration of the country's monuments, and has expressed its disapproval of Elgin's actions to remove the Marbles from the Acropolis and the Parthenon, which is regarded as one of the world's greatest cultural monuments, disputes the subsequent purchase of the Marbles by the British Government and urges"
"Elgin Marbles The Elgin Marbles (), also known as the Parthenon Marbles (Greek: Γλυπτά του Παρθενώνα), are a collection of Classical Greek marble sculptures made under the supervision of the architect and sculptor Phidias and his assistants. They were originally part of the temple of the Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens. From 1801 to 1812, agents of Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin removed about half of the surviving sculptures of the Parthenon, as well as sculptures from the Propylaea and Erechtheum. The Marbles were transported by sea to Britain. Elgin later claimed to have obtained"
"two main collections of the institution. When the marbles were shipped to England, they were ""an instant success among many"" who admired the sculptures and supported their arrival, but both the sculptures and Elgin also received criticism from detractors. Lord Elgin began negotiations for the sale of the collection to the British Museum in 1811, but negotiations failed despite the support of British artists after the government showed little interest. Many Britons opposed purchase of the statues because they were in bad condition and therefore did not display the ""ideal beauty"" found in other sculpture collections. The following years marked"
"collection. Between six and eight titles are published each year in this series. It is a point of controversy whether museums should be allowed to possess artifacts taken from other countries, and the British Museum is a notable target for criticism. The Elgin Marbles, Benin Bronzes, Ethiopian Tabots and the Rosetta Stone are among the most disputed objects in its collections, and organisations have been formed demanding the return of these artefacts to their native countries of Greece, Nigeria and Egypt respectively. Parthenon Marbles claimed by Greece were also claimed by UNESCO among others for restitution. From 1801 to 1812,"
"a circular opening above two putti, one holding an engraving of the Soho Manufactory. Around this time there was much debate over the merits of the sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens, which had been brought to Britain by Lord Elgin, and were hence popularly known as the Elgin marbles. When Flaxman first saw them at Elgin's house in 1807, he advised against their restoration. Flaxman's statements in favour of their purchase by the government to a parliamentary commission carried considerable weight; the sculptures were eventually bought in 1816. His designs for the friezes of ""Ancient Drama"" and ""Modern Drama"","
"and other districts of Hellas. Part of the Elgin collection was prepared for embarkation for England in 1803, and considerable difficulties were encountered at every stage of its transit. Elgin's vessel, the Mentor, wrecked near Cerigo with its cargo of marbles, and it was not till after the labours of three years, and the expenditure of a large sum of money, that the marbles were successfully recovered by the divers. On Elgin's departure from Turkey in 1803, he withdrew all his artists from Athens with the exception of Lusieri, who remained to direct the excavations which were still carried on,"
"general arguments commonly used: Egypt is seeking the repatriation of the Rosetta Stone from the British Museum and the Nefertiti bust from the Neues Museum in Berlin. Greece is seeking repatriation of the Elgin Marbles from the British Museum, taken from the Parthenon by Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin. Since 1816, the British Museum has held the Parthenon Marbles (""In Britain, the acquisition of the collection was supported by some, while other critics compared The British Consul at Greece Elgin's actions to vandalism or looting"", text from the Marbles article), and, despite the tortuous and ill explained path from"
"Museum includes the following material from the Acropolis: The British Museum lent the figure of a river-god, possibly the river Ilissos, to the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg to celebrate its 250th anniversary. It was on display there from Saturday 6 December 2014 until Sunday 18 January 2015. This was the first time the British Museum had lent part of its Elgin Marbles collection and it caused considerable controversy. In a 2018 interview to the Athens newspaper Ta Nea, quoted later in The Independent, the British Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn vowed to return the Marbles to Greece, stating"
"results have been characterised by proponents of the return of the Marbles to Greece as representing a groundswell of public opinion supporting return, since the proportion explicitly supporting return to Greece significantly exceeds the number who are explicitly in favour of keeping the Marbles at the British Museum. The remainder of the surviving sculptures that are not in museums or storerooms in Athens are held in museums in various locations across Europe. The British Museum also holds additional fragments from the Parthenon sculptures acquired from various collections that have no connection with Lord Elgin. The collection held in the British"
"part of a worldwide campaign to seek support for the return of the Parthenon Marbles which were removed by Lord Elgin from Greece in the early 19th century. The 100+ pieces are housed at the British Museum. On 24 May 2007 the New Zealand Parliament agreed to a motion urging the British Government to return the Parthenon Marbles to Greece. Moved by Hon. Marian Hobbs, Labour Member of Parliament for Wellington Central, the motion requested that ""the House joins its voice to that of other countries throughout the world and urges the British Government to support the return of the"
"for the British Museum to return the Elgin Marbles. Palermo Fragment The Palermo fragment is a 2,500-year-old marble sculpture fragment of the foot and dress of the ancient Greek goddess Artemis. The Palermo fragment was taken by Lord Elgin from the Parthenon in the early 19th century and given to the British Consul to Sicily in 1816. For the past two centuries, the fragment has been kept at the Salinas Archaeological Museum in Palermo. Greece's 13-year campaign for the return of the fragment finally ended on 24 September 2008, when Italian President Giorgio Napolitano delivered the fragment to Athens. It"
"for public exhibition overseas, which is provided for in the 1963 Act. Another argument for keeping the Elgin Marbles within the UK has been made by J. H. Merryman, Sweitzer Professor of Law at Stanford University and co-operating professor in the Stanford Art Department. He has argued that the Marbles are now established as a significant element of Britain's own cultural history, as ""the Elgin Marbles have been in England since 1821 and in that time have become a part of the British cultural heritage."" He has also argued that if the Parthenon were actually being restored, there would be"
"legalises his (and therefore the British Museum's) claim to the Marbles. He does note, though, that the clause concerning the extent of Ottoman authorisation to remove the marbles ""is at best ambiguous"", adding that the document ""provides slender authority for the massive removals from the Parthenon ... The reference to 'taking away any pieces of stone' seems incidental, intended to apply to objects found while excavating. That was certainly the interpretation privately placed on the firman by several of the Elgin party, including Lady Elgin. Publicly, however, a different attitude was taken, and the work of dismantling the sculptures on"
"caryatid and a column from the Erechtheion. On the recommendation of a parliamentary committee, which also vindicated Elgin's conduct, the ""Marbles"" were bought by Great Britain in 1816 for £35,000, considerably below their cost to Elgin (estimated at £75,000), and deposited in the British Museum, where they remain. Elgin, who had been 'detained' in France after the rupture of the peace of Amiens, returned to Britain in 1806. Finding that he could not get the British Museum to pay what he was asking for the marbles, Elgin sued his wife's lover for an appropriately high sum. He divorced Mary, for"
"his famous sonnet about the marbles titled ""On Seeing the Elgin Marbles"". Notable supporters of Elgin included the painter Benjamin Robert Haydon. A public debate in Parliament followed Elgin's publication, and Parliament again exonerated Elgin's actions. Parliament decided to purchase the marbles for the ""British nation"" in 1816 by a vote of 82–30 for £35,000. They were deposited in the British Museum, where they were displayed in the Elgin Saloon (constructed in 1832), until the Duveen Gallery was completed in 1939. Crowds packed the British Museum to view the sculptures, setting attendance records for the museum. William Wordsworth viewed the"
"times, but Haseki always returned until his final downfall and execution in 1795. His early tenure also saw two large Albanian raids into Attica, as a response to which he ordered the construction of a new city wall, the ""Wall of Haseki"", which was partly constructed with material taken from ancient monuments. Between 1801 and 1805 Lord Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, arranged for the removal of many sculptures from the Parthenon (the Elgin marbles). Along with the Panathenaic frieze, one of the six caryatids of the Erechtheion was extracted and replaced with a plaster mold. All"
"original of the document which has survived was not a firman"". The document was recorded in an appendix of an 1816 parliamentary committee report. 'The committee permission' had convened to examine a request by Elgin asking the British government to purchase the Marbles. The report said that the document in the appendix was an accurate translation, in English, of an Ottoman firman dated July 1801. In Elgin's view it amounted to an Ottoman authorisation to remove the marbles. The committee was told that the original document was given to Ottoman officials in Athens in 1801. Researchers have so far failed"
"November 1841, aged 75, in Paris. His widow the Dowager Countess of Elgin died in Paris 1 April 1860. Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin and 11th Earl of Kincardine (; 20 July 1766 – 14 November 1841) was a Scottish nobleman, soldier, politician and diplomat, known primarily for the removal of marble sculptures (also known as the Elgin Marbles) from the Parthenon in Athens. A member of the formerly royal house of Bruce, Elgin was born at the family seat, at Broomhall House, Fife, the second son of Charles Bruce, 5th Earl of"
"had attracted since the ""Treasures of Tutankhamun"" exhibition in 1972. Holding his office during a period which has seen the Acropolis Museum constructed in Athens, he has consistently argued against returning the British Museum's controversially held sculptures from the Parthenon (the ""Elgin Marbles"") to Greece. A poll in 2014 suggested that more British people (37%) supported the marbles' restoration to Greece than opposed it (23%). His predecessor as director David Mackenzie Wilson had also tried to justify the British Museum position during a live 1983 television encounter with Greek actress and Minister of Culture Melina Mercouri, an encounter subsequently viewed"
"published in Lerebours's ""Excursions Daguerriennes"" in 1842: the first photograph of the Acropolis. The area became a historical precinct controlled by the Greek government. Today it attracts millions of tourists every year, who travel up the path at the western end of the Acropolis, through the restored Propylaea, and up the Panathenaic Way to the Parthenon, which is surrounded by a low fence to prevent damage. The dispute centres around the Parthenon Marbles removed by Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, from 1801 to 1803, which are in the British Museum. A few sculptures from the Parthenon are also in"
"his painter. Lusieri was originally employed to create sketches for Elgin of Greek antiquities. Lusieri was empowered to also employ moulders who were to create casts of Greek sculptures. Elgin however found that marble sculptures were missing and that they had allegedly been destroyed. It was Lusieri who persuaded the reluctant Elgin to remove the sculptures in order to protect them from local Turkish opportunists, who were breaking off bits to sell to tourists. In 1801 Elgin had Lusieri supervise the removal of the sculptures at a cost of £70,000. Lusieri's body of work was seriously reduced when many of"
"1798 the Earl of Elgin was appointed as ""Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of His Britannic Majesty to the Sublime Porte of Selim III, Sultan of Turkey"" (Greece was then part of the Ottoman Empire). Before his departure to take up the post he had approached officials of the British government to inquire if they would be interested in employing artists to take casts and drawings of the sculptured portions of the Parthenon. According to Lord Elgin, ""the answer of the Government ... was entirely negative."" Lord Elgin decided to carry out the work himself, and employed artists to take"
"sculptures and in 1802 King George III presented the Rosetta Stone – key to the deciphering of hieroglyphs. Gifts and purchases from Henry Salt, British consul general in Egypt, beginning with the Colossal bust of Ramesses II in 1818, laid the foundations of the collection of Egyptian Monumental Sculpture. Many Greek sculptures followed, notably the first purpose-built exhibition space, the Charles Towneley collection, much of it Roman Sculpture, in 1805. In 1806, Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1799 to 1803 removed the large collection of marble sculptures from the Parthenon, on the Acropolis"
"commander's harem in the Ottoman period. In 1800 one of the caryatids and the north column of the east porch together with the overlying section of the entablature were removed by Lord Elgin in order to decorate his Scottish mansion, and were later sold to the British Museum (along with the pedimental and frieze sculpture taken from the Parthenon). Athenian legend had it that at night the remaining five Caryatids could be heard wailing for their lost sister. Elgin attempted to remove a second Caryatid; when technical difficulties arose, he tried to have it sawn to pieces. The statue was"
"English government purchased the Marbles from Elgin in 1816 and placed them in the British Museum, where they were seen by generations of English artists. Elgin's activities caused a controversy that continues to this day. The Victorian period saw new forms of Hellenism, none more famous than the social theory of Matthew Arnold in his book, ""Culture and Anarchy"". For Arnold, Hellenism was the opposite of Hebraism. The former term stood for ""spontaneity,"" and for ""things as they really are""; the latter term stood for ""strictness of conscience,"" and for ""conduct and obedience."" Human history, according to Arnold, oscillated between"
"were also deeply involved in retelling the myths of classical Greece. In art and architecture, the Greek influence saw a zenith in the early nineteenth century, following from a Greek Revival that began with archaeological discoveries in the eighteenth century, and that changed the look of buildings, gardens and cemeteries (among other things) in England and continental Europe. This movement also inflected the worlds of fashion, interior design, furniture-making--even hairstyles. In painting and sculpture, no single event was more inspiring for the movement of Hellenism than the removal of the Parthenon Marbles from Greece to England by Lord Elgin. The"
"Lord Elgin in the early 19th century, is now in the British Museum in London. The Acropolis Museum holds the other five figures, which are replaced onsite by replicas. The five originals that are in Athens are now being exhibited in the new Acropolis Museum, on a special balcony that allows visitors to view them from all sides. The pedestal for the Caryatid removed to London remains empty. From 2011 to 2015, they were cleaned by a specially constructed laser beam, which removed accumulated soot and grime without harming the marble's patina. Each Caryatid was cleaned in place, with a"
"departed Turkey at last on 16 January 1803. Acting on the advice of Sir William Hamilton, he procured the services of the Neapolitan painter, Lusieri, and of several skilful draughtsmen and modellers. These artists were dispatched to Athens in the summer of 1800, and were principally employed in making drawings of the ancient monuments, though very limited facilities were given them by the authorities. About the middle of the summer of 1801, Elgin received a firman, from the Porte which allowed his lordship's agents not only to 'fix scaffolding round the ancient Temple of the Idols [the Parthenon], and to"