Featured The ongoing saga of the Parthenon Marbles....

Remember the Parthenon Marbles? Parts of the frieze of the world famous Athens Parthenon that mostly ended up in the British Museum as the Elgin Marbles?



No, I won't go into the right or wrong of how they were acquired, that is for lawyers to sort out. Just a background article and some recent developments.
Enjoy:

"How Did the Parthenon Marbles End Up in the British Museum?"
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/parthenon-marbles-british-museum-restitution-1234605904/

"In a New Bid for the Return of the Parthenon Marbles, Greece’s Prime Minister Is Offering to Loan the U.K. Other National Treasures"
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/greek-prime-minister-offers-trade-for-parthenon-marbles-2034905

"Return of Parthenon marbles is up to British Museum, says No 10"
https://www.theguardian.com/artandd...on-marbles-is-up-to-british-museum-says-no-10

"Secret papers reveal UK government's stance on Parthenon Marbles dispute"
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/202...ail&utm_term=0_c459f924d0-2e6a27ed41-61038205

"In a Breakthrough, Italy Will Return a Piece of the Parthenon Frieze to Greece Under a Long-Term Loan Agreement"
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/parthenon-greece-swap-italy-2042252?utm_content=from_artnetnews2&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Euro PM 12/2&utm_term=EUR Daily Newsletter [AFTERNOON]

Some of the marbles:

 

Forgot to add these:

"Parthenon Marbles Suffered Damage Because of Pollution, According to New Report"
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/elgin-marbles-research-findings-1202671569/

"A new study of 19th-century plaster casts of the controversial sculptures highlight details lost over the past 200 years"
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smar...s-have-deteriorated-over-200-years-180973752/

"Greece Unveils Museum Meant For 'Stolen' Sculptures"
https://text.npr.org/113889188

https://www.theacropolismuseum.gr/en/exhibit-halls/parthenon-gallery

 

Thank you for all the links. Stories of the Parthenon and of the Marbles are always interesting to me. Were you aware that there is a full-scale replica of the Parthenon in the U.S., as it may have looked prior its ruinous state? It is in Nashville, Tennessee, and was created in late 19th century for a centennial exhibition. Then was rebuilt in the 1920s-1930s. Nashville is one of several places that would like to be known as "The Athens of" a location. I was in Nashville for about a year, working on a graduate degree long ago. I've visited the Nashville Parthenon a few times. It is impressive. I would love to visit the original Parthenon.
https://www.nashvilleparthenon.com/history

 

To me too, and I was pretty sure I'm not the only one here.

That is amazing Fig, it even has an Athena statue. Thank you for the link.

 

The statue is amazing. It's very large! Apparently the sculptor had to create it from fragmentary information on what the original looked like.

 

Thank you so much for the links to all this information. I am going to enjoy reading and learning about the marbles and the story behind them.

 

Politics aside, it's a good thing they've been where they've been, preserved from further damage.
I've seen them, and they're not my cup of tea. Nothing wrong with them, but I like the Assyrian winged bullmen near the Rosetta Stone much better.

 

You're welcome, Caro.

If I come across more news, I will post it here.
And if anyone else comes across new information, please post it here as well.

 

Fern, those Assyrian winged bullmen are among the most impressive ansient sculptures I've ever seen. They are huge! Much more so than you would ever think from pictures. And perfectly carved.

You probably missed this article:

"A new study of 19th-century plaster casts of the controversial sculptures highlight details lost over the past 200 years"
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smar...s-have-deteriorated-over-200-years-180973752/

And more information on one of the reasons why there is so much damage:

https://www.gazette-drouot.com/en/a...henon-marbles-threatened-by-water-leaks/29212

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...ng-roof-proves-elgin-marbles-should-returned/

https://www.theartnewspaper.com/202...gain-in-the-british-museums-parthenon-gallery

The fully climatized Akropolis museum in Athens now houses plaster casts of the marbles currently in the BM, along with some original pieces. It is ready to welcome the originals into a protective environment, so what is left of them will be preserved properly.

 

[QUOTE=" It is ready to welcome the originals"/QUOTE]

Yes, now.

And by the way, repros form the casts (or casts from repros from the casts) come up for sale from time to time. There was one on TV some time ago, I think on Drew Pritchard's.

 

Yes, obviously, by logic it wouldn't have been ready during the Turkish Ottoman occupation, when Lord Elgin acquired the marbles. After all, the frieze was still in situ, so no museum was needed.
Besides, the Greeks had no say in any matter regarding their heritage during Ottoman rule. Greece was a colony, and the Ottomans had little to no respect for local culture wherever they were.

 

The University of Illinois has a set of 19th century copies of the frieze as well. They are housed in their Spurlock Museum and represent an early seed to the collection. At the time I first visited them, I was told they were one of the two copies made at the time. I do not know if they are the early Elgin copies or the later ones. Here is a link to them.

Search the Collection, Collections, Spurlock Museum, U of I (illinois.edu)

 

Good interesting reading. Thank you

 

Was also interesting. Thanks