August 7, 2008
How Scotland should be dealing with the Elgin Marbles issue
John Huntley follows up his earlier letter to the Scotsman, explaining the basis for how legal action could be taken in the Scottish courts over the Elgin Marbles.
From:
Scotsman
Purchase or plunder? A clear case for Scottish court to decide
Published Date: 06 August 2008
By JOHN K HUNTLEYLET’S go to Fife to see the Parthenon Marbles. We might have done, had Thomas Bruce had his way. The seventh Lord Elgin “acquired” them for his new mansion at Broomhall. Grand designs for a grand man.
Instead, we can see them in London’s British Museum, which “acquired” the “Elgin” Marbles in 1816.
A new museum in Athens will open this autumn to house all the Parthenon Marbles – including the “Elgin” Marbles, if the British Museum repatriates them.Why should it, you might ask? London is more a cultural hub than Athens; the British Museum is truly international. And anyway, they belong to the museum, don’t they?
That depends on how they were “acquired/appropriated”. Here’s a short run-down:
1789: Elgin is appointed ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, of which Athens was then part.
1801: A firman, or official document, is addressed to the governor of Athens, allowing Lord Elgin to take plaster casts, with wide powers to remove material from the Acropolis. It does not specifically permit him to remove fixtures, nor authorise any sales or payments for anything to anyone.
1801-12: Lord Elgin and his agents, acting in a private capacity, not as representatives of the UK government, remove, by hacking or sawing, various marbles fixed to the Acropolis buildings, including the Parthenon, causing irreparable damage to sculptures and buildings. Money was paid to Turkish officials to secure this.
1816: Westminster parliament “purchases” the marbles for £35,000.
No doubt some of Lord Elgin’s motives were laudatory – “early acts of conservation” and the British government/Museum “purchase” must be seen in context. What else could they do? Repatriate them to an indifferent Ottoman regime? Let them rot in warehouses? Sell them to the Americans?
Did Lord Elgin and, subsequently, the British Museum ever own them? Imagine Lord Elgin inviting me to Broomhall and, without permission, I help myself to his doors, windows and murals, then try to sell them as my property. How could I prove I lawfully owned them?
Well, you might say, he paid for and took possession of them, which at least raises a presumption of ownership, like payment for a car that turns out to be stolen.
The proper place for such matters is a court of law. But which court – and who could bring such an action? Certainly not the UK government, which regards this a matter entirely for the trustees of the British Museum, who are independent of government. The trustees could initiate an action, as they did in 2002 to determine whether they could return artefacts looted by the Nazis to former owners. But why should they want to test ownership of the marbles?
The repatriation of cultural artefacts and antiquities is a cultural matter: a devolved competence under the Scotland Act 1998. But what Scottish competence is there over the Parthenon Marbles, in the possession of a museum outwith the Scottish Government’s jurisdiction? The Lewis Chessmen, the Stone of Destiny – surely there is competence here. Lord Elgin, a domiciled Scot acting in a private and non-governmental capacity, intended to bring the marbles to Scotland. Not only is there competence, there is a duty to act. But is there a will?
The political fallout would, of course, be immense: the impact on our museums (dare I again mention the Lewis Chessmen?); on our long-established cordial relationships with the British and other English museums; the international impact.
These, like Lord Elgin’s motives, are irrelevant. Surely a Scottish court can determine if a Scot acquired ownership. If a court decides it had, the British Museum’s case is based on some justice; if not, it should repatriate them.
Either way, Scottish justice, and honour, would be satisfied.”
- Are the Elgin Marbles a Scottish issue? : March 7, 2008
- The Elgin Marbles issue exposes the SNP’s duplicity : July 12, 2008
- Spurious arguments about the Elgin Marbles : June 30, 2009
- Greeks should be allowed to borriw the Elgin Marbles : April 21, 2007
- How legal was Elgin’s Firman : August 29, 2008
- The British Museum’s response on discussions with the Greek government : April 22, 2007
- Greek & British officials to held talks on Elgin Marbles : April 21, 2007
- The barrier to compromise over the Elgin Marbles : December 13, 2008
Tom Minogue said,
08.07.08 at 1:56 pm
Professor John A K Huntley’s suggestion (Scotsman article 06 Aug) that Scotland’s justice system is the appropriate one for determining the legality of the purchase of the Parthenon and other marbles from the 7th Earl of Elgin is debateable.
I agree however that there can be no doubt that the marbles are booty. Elgin lied about the “firman” to Westminster in 1816. This was proved by Prof. D Rudenstine, Dean of the Cardozo School of Law. This and other discrepancies with the firman (which has never been seen) mean that the marbles were fraudulently obtained, and sold.
As fraud nullifies everything the marbles bought by Westminster were stolen goods. That said, the body charged with righting this wrong is the buyer, the Westminster Government, and the person within that body responsible for such matters is the Commissioner for Standards. Complaint should be made to him.
Are we not constantly urged to report suspected criminality? In 2004 I complained to the then Chief of Fife Constabulary, Peter Wilson, that the British Museum hold booty in the form of the Parthenon Marbles and the residents of Broomhall in Fife were in possession of Greek stelae (gravestones) sacrilegiously taken from various sites. Needless to say this complaint did not receive a serious response.
Given Professor Huntley’s latest claims, I will make fresh approaches to Fife’s new Chief Constable, Norma Graham, on the same terms as my 2004 complaint, in the hope that a review can be carried out by her. Then it will be for the police to decide if there is prima facie case of a crime as I claim.
If the police agree with me—and Professors Rudenstine, Huntley, and most right-minded people—that there was theft, it will be for them to decide which prosecuting body (north or south of the border) would be best suited to deal with the various stolen stones.
Perhaps Professor Huntley might follow my example and involve his local police force (Strathclyde?) in an investigation into the stolen marbles.
That force may be well suited for this task if they are, as rumoured, no strangers in maters relating to masonry.
Dr Selby Whittingham said,
08.10.08 at 10:21 pm
We at Donor Watch hope that these Scottish initiatives succeed and set a precedent for the reclamaton of other works illegitimately held by museums.
how to get your ex back said,
08.11.08 at 9:17 pm
Hmm…this is a very interesting post about the stolen marbles.
After reading this post, I do agree that further investigation into the stolen Parthenon Marbles needs to take place. I do agree with Tom on who should settle this issue.
I guess time will tell.