Showing results 1 - 12 of 40 for the month of May, 2007.

May 31, 2007

The big move to the New Acropolis Museum

Posted at 1:00 pm in Acropolis, Elgin Marbles, New Acropolis Museum

More coverage of the move planned for the sculptures currently housed in the existing Acropolis Museum in Athens.

From:
International Herald Tribune

Acropolis sculptures to be moved to new museum
The Associated Press
Published: May 29, 2007

ATHENS, Greece: Three hundred marble sculptures that have survived on the Acropolis in Athens through 2,500 years of war, weather and looting, will soon be moved to a new museum, Greek officials said Tuesday.

The sculptures, weighing up to 2.5 tons each, were carved in the 6th and 5th centuries B.C. to decorate the Parthenon and other temples. Most are currently exhibited in a small museum on the Acropolis.
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New Acropolis Museum to open in 2008

Posted at 12:57 pm in New Acropolis Museum

Following the details of the closure of the existing Acropolis Museum, the target opening date for the New Acropolis Museum has recently been announced.

From:
Reuters

Acropolis museum to open gates in early 2008
Tue May 29, 2007 2:33PM EDT
By Renee Maltezou

ATHENS, May 29 (Reuters Life!) – After years of delays, Greece’s new Acropolis Museum will open its gates to the public in early 2008, giving new impetus to efforts to bring home the Parthenon marbles from the British Museum.

Legal battles and missed deadlines have plagued the building – a large glass structure perched on thick concrete columns – but finally the project is nearing completion and will soon be ready to receive up to 10,000 visitors a day.
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The transfer of artefacts to the New Acropolis Museum

Posted at 12:55 pm in New Acropolis Museum

A date has now been set for the transfer of the artefacts currently held in the existing Acropolis Museum to the New Acropolis Museum which is rapidly nearing completion.

From:
Athens News Agency

05/29/2007
Transfer of old Acropolis artifacts begins in Sept.

The delicate process of transporting the exhibits and artifacts currently housed in a small museum atop the Acropolis in central Athens to a new state-of-the-art Acropolis Museum facing the celebrated hill’s south side will begin in September.

Archaeology service officials in the Greek capital on Tuesday said that 340 priceless artifacts, loaded into special metallic crates, will be lowered by three large-scale construction cranes from atop the Acropolis for a short 400-metre journey to the new museum — a modern glass-&-steel structure that Greek officials and philhellenes around the world hope will soon host part or all of the Parthenon Marbles.
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Motion in New Zealand parliament on Parthenon Sculptures return

Posted at 12:53 pm in Elgin Marbles

More details of the motion passed in the New Zealand parliament calling for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures to Athens.

From:
Scoop (New Zealand)

Elgin Marbles Parliamentary Motion Hailed
Monday, 28 May 2007, 12:02 pm
Press Release: NZ Parthenon Marbles Committee
27 May 2007

Parthenon (Elgin) Marbles Parliamentary Motion Hailed

“The motion passed last Thursday by members of New Zealand’s Parliament, which urges the British Government to return the Parthenon (Elgin) Marbles back to Greece, joins the growing number of countries and international organisations also calling for their return” said Bruce Blades, Chairman of the New Zealand Parthenon Marbles Committee.
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New Zealand parliament urges Britain to return Elgin Marbles

Posted at 12:49 pm in Elgin Marbles

A motion has been passed in the New Zealand parliament calling for Britain to return the Parthenon Sculptures to Greece.

From:
New Zealand Herald

British urged to flick marbles to Greece
5:00AM Tuesday May 29, 2007

The New Zealand Parliament’s call for Britain to return the Elgin marbles to Greece has been welcomed by the NZ Parthenon marbles committee.

Last week in Wellington, MPs unanimously backed a motion that one of the world’s longest-running diplomatic rows be ended with the marbles’ return to Athens.
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May 30, 2007

Nail MacGregor’s vision for the British Museum

Posted at 12:56 pm in British Museum

Yet again, the British Museum’s director is trying to re-interpret the museum, claiming that the fact that it is full of imperial trophies is an oversimplification which should be looked at differently. Calling something by a different name though does not necessarily change any of the underlying facts.

From:
Guardian blogs

The world needs new histories
Neil MacGregor explained his vision for the British Museum to a Hay audience – and we should change the way we see the institution ourselves.
May 29, 2007 10:30 AM

There’s an easy – and lazy – tradition of thinking about the British Museum. It casts the museum, in spite or because of all its glories, as the quintessential imperial institution, looting the world and acquiring the trophies of global power for the glorification of Britain. It feeds into a generally guilt-driven view of the Bloomsbury museum and the belief that almost everything within it, from the Elgin marbles downwards, is illegitimately possessed and ought to be “returned”.
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May 26, 2007

The ethics of repatriating artefacts

Posted at 12:45 pm in Similar cases

An interesting interpretation of repatriation in this article is that you don’t have to actually return the artefacts, but merely use them in a spiritual context. It would be interesting to see if the original owners of the artefacts agree with this analysis – I somehow doubt that they would.

From:
Cambridge Evening News

24 May 2007
Voices from past and future

THE native art and culture of the South Pacific comes to Cambridge next week with the Pasifika Styles performing arts festival.

The week-long programme of events will feature contemporary drama, comedy and visual art from Maori, Samoan and Fijian and other Pacific island cultures.
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ICOM calls for cultural property abroad to be repatriated

Posted at 12:40 pm in Similar cases

The international Council Of Museums, has issues calls for the repatriation of African artefacts that are currently held in foreign museums.

From:
Business Day

Last Updated: May 25th, 2007
May 24th, 2007
ICOM calls for repatriation of cultural properties abroad

The International Council of Museum (ICOM) has called for the repatriation of African cultural properties in foreign museums.
Obinna Emelike and Priscilla Olakunle

The call was made by Violetta Ekpo, Nigerian representative to the Paris-based ICOM, in her lecture titled: Museums and Universal Heritage: The right to ownership, which was part of the activities marking the World Museums Day, organised by the Centre for Black and African Arts & Civilization (CBAAC) recently at the National Theatre, Lagos.
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May 25, 2007

Official Australian support for the return of Elgin Marbles

Posted at 1:05 pm in Elgin Marbles

More coverage of the statement by John Howard, the Australian Prime Minister about his support for the reunification of the surviving Parthenon Sculptures in Athens.

From:
Kathimerini (English Edition)

Thursday May 24, 2007
Karamanlis signs pension deal with Australia
Greek PM seeks support on Marbles

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis and his Australian counterpart John Howard yesterday signed a deal granting tens of thousands of Greek Australians who have returned to Greece access to medical benefits and an Australian pension.

“I believe we will resolve an issue which has been pending for decades,” Karamanlis said in Canberra, adding that “at least 60,000 ethnic Greeks will benefit directly.”
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May 24, 2007

Illegally imported ring returned to Turkey by Britain

Posted at 1:01 pm in Similar cases

A ring, Illegally imported into Britain has now been returned to its country of origin by the British Authorities after being seized by customs officials. It seems that if you steal something now, the return of it is far more important than if it was taken years ago – although the impact can be the same in either instance.

From:
BBC News

Last Updated: Tuesday, 22 May 2007, 12:00 GMT 13:00 UK
Roman ring handed back to Turkey

An historic Roman ring which was illegally imported into the UK from Turkey has been returned.

The iron and silver band, which dates back to between AD 161 and AD 169, is thought to have been taken from an archaeological dig at Ephesus, Turkey.
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Australian Prime Minister supports Greek calls for return of Parthenon Marbles

Posted at 12:59 pm in Elgin Marbles

After discussions with the Greek Prime Minister during a visit, Australian Prime Minister John Howard has expresses his support for the return of the Elgin Marbles to Athens.

From:
International Herald Tribune

Australian PM supports Greek calls for Britain to return Parthenon Marbles
The Associated Press
Published: May 22, 2007

CANBERRA, Australia: The prime ministers of Australia and Greece united Wednesday in calling for the British Museum to return the Parthenon Marbles to Greece.

Kostas Karamanlis this week became the first Greek prime minister to visit Australia.
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Australia Prime Minister asked for support in recovering Elgin Marbles

Posted at 12:56 pm in Elgin Marbles

Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has asked John Howard, the Australian Prime Minister to support the return of the Parthenon Marbles, after seeing his success in securing the return of Aboriginal remains.

From:
The Australian

Howard asked to recover lost marbles
By Rob Taylor
May 23, 2007

GREEK Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis today asked Australia to pressure Britain to hand over the Elgin Marbles after Canberra successfully lobbied for the return from London of ancient aboriginal remains.

The Elgin Marbles, known in Greece as the Parthenon Marbles, are a series of friezes and sculptures removed from the Acropolis above Athens by British diplomat Lord Elgin some 200 years ago and are now housed in the British Museum.
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