More coverage of the newly published letters relating to the history of the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum. The letters are particularly interesting, as they reveal how long standing Greece’s attempts to secure the return of the sculptures have been.

From:
GR Reporter

21 Documents About the Return of the Parthenon Marbles Revealed after 200 Years
By Areti Kotseli on March 22, 2012

Since its establishment in 1821, the Greek state has declared its intentions to return to Athens the sculptures from the Parthenon held by the British Museum. This is what twenty-one documents, under the title “The Acropolis of Athens”, revealing the correspondence between the ministers of education and foreign affairs, and reports of the Greek Ambassador in London at that time, have proved. The publishing house “Alitia” has published the documents for the first time and the luxury collection is available only in the souvenir shop of the Acropolis Museum.

“This record is a great weapon in the hands of the Greek state in the negotiations with the British Museum, because it shows the earliest efforts to restore and protect the Athenian Acropolis and to clear it of any foreign intervention,” said the publisher Kostas Tsaruhas.
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Nobody watching news in recent years can have managed to avoid hearing about the Greek debt crisis. Much of the focus has been on the level of the debt & how it can be re-paid, but the effects on real people living in the country can be far more of a problem. Cuts in the budgets of government departments have meant that the level of spending on archaeological & cultural projects has had to be heavily reduced from what it was a few years ago. Solutions need to be found, not just to the macro level problem, but to the many smaller issues that both stem from it & in some cases help to perpetuate it.

From:
Bloomberg News

Greece’s $473 Billion Debt Mirrors Crisis in Cultural Assets
By A. Craig Copetas – Oct 19, 2011 12:00 AM GMT
Plato doesn’t live here anymore.

A pack of feral cats chases the rodents that run past the Gypsy squatters who inhabit the bleak 32-acre Athens park that masks the birthplace of Western civilization. Alexandros Stanas says what’s interred beneath the debris illustrates both a solution to Greece’s 345 billion euro ($473 billion) sovereign debt crisis and why his country roils in catastrophe.

“Economics, politics, philosophy, everything that empowers our reasoning and ability to solve today’s problems was born here at Plato’s Academy,” says Stanas, a former management consultant at the Greek Ministry of Culture and Tourism who is now general director of the Art-Athina International Contemporary Art Fair.
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Letters reveal that between 1834 & 1842, Greece’s king Otto considered purchasing the Parthenon sculptures back from the British Museum, or exchanging them for other artefacts that were less culturally significant to Greece. I’m interested to know what the British response at that time was & the reasons given for not proceeding with the proposal.

From:
Agence France Presse

Greece mulled buying Acropolis marbles from Britain
(AFP) – 3 hours ago

ATHENS — Greece’s Bavarian-born King Otto considered offering Britain cash or antiquities in the 19th century in exchange for marbles removed from the Acropolis, previously unpublished historical files have shown.

“There is a document to the foreign ministry, subsequently forwarded to Otto’s minister in London, with instructions on how to request the marbles back,” Acropolis Museum director Demetrios Pantermalis told a conference on Monday.
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The American Journal of Archaeology has published a very comprehensive review of the New Acropolis Museum.

You can view the original article in PDF format here.

More coverage of the excavations on the wreck of the Mentor, the ship that was carrying the Parthenon Sculptures to Britain before it sank in a storm.

You can also view a press release about the project with some photos & further details here.

From:
Greek Reporter

Research on the Shipwreck “Mentor” Which Carried Elgin Marbles
Posted on 10 August 2011 by Lia Pavlou

According to an article in the Greek newspaper “Eleftherotypia”, research was conducted by the Ephorate of Marine Antiquities from July 6-15 on the wreck of the ship “Mentor” which had once carried some of the Elgin marbles. The research was financed by the Australian Foundation “Kytherian Research Group.”

The ship, originally chartered by Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin and British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1799–1803, was a brig, built in 1780, that set sail from Piraeus on September 16th, 1802. However, near Cape Tainaro, strong winds made the voyage difficult and in Avlemonas, on the island of Kythyra, the ship ran upon the rocks and sank. Elgin, at his own expense, made great efforts to salvage the stolen treasures from the sunken ship. This operation lasted more than two years and, in the end, bankrupted Elgin. It was for this reason that he eventually sold the marbles to the British Museum for a very low price.
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A team of divers, led by archaeologist Demetris Kourkoumelis have organised new excavations of the remains of the ship, the Mentor, which was lost in a storm off Kythera whilst transporting many of the Parthenon Sculptures to London. The sculptures were subsequently recovered by sponge divers from Kalymnos.

From:
Bloomberg News

Team Explores 19th Century Parthenon Marble Shipwreck in Greece
By Natalie Weeks – Aug 8, 2011 1:40 PM GMT

A team of underwater explorers in Greece examined the shipwreck of the Mentor, which sunk in 1802 as it transported marbles from the Parthenon to London.

The sculptures, part of the Parthenon collection taken and sent to England by Lord Elgin, were recovered after the ship sunk and no additional pieces were found in last month’s or in three previous explorations, the Athens-based Culture and Tourism Ministry said in an e-mailed statement today.
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Although most of the sculptures from the Acropolis have already been removed & replaces with replicas, with the originals in the Acropolis Museum, there are still a small number of pieces that are still in the process of being removed to be eventually relocated indoors away from the damaging effects of pollution.

From:
Agence France Presse

Zeus and Hera leave Acropolis for safe-keeping: official
(AFP) – Aug 27, 2011

ATHENS — A sculpture depicting Zeus and Hera, king and queen of the ancient Greek pantheon of gods, has been permanently removed from the Acropolis in Athens for safe-keeping, a project supervisor said Saturday.

The sculpture — one of the last of the original decorative pieces adorning the 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple — will be showcased in the Acropolis Museum in Athens and will be replaced by a copy, architect Vasso Eleftheriou said.
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I’ve been going through my older photos of the New Acropolis Museum & uploading some more of them to Flickr.

Here are some from October 2007, when the first sculptures were craned down from the Acropolis to the New Acropolis Museum by a relay of three cranes.

More coverage on the deal signed between Greece & the USA to restrict the importation of historic artefacts.

From:
Art Info

The U.S. and Greece Agree to Ban Imports of Most Antiquities, Despite Concerns Raised by Debt Crisis

Collectors in the market for Greek antiquities may soon find them harder to come by on this side of the Atlantic.

Standing at the Parthenon Museum in Athens, Greece last week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed an agreement with the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Stavros Lambrinidis to restrict imports of ancient Greek artifacts to the United States.
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US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, has signed an agreement with Greece, to restrict importation of antiquities, in an aim to help prevent looting of archaeological sites.

From:
The Art Newspaper

Clinton signs memorandum with Greece restricting import of antiquities
New agreement looks to end looting and black market sales by reducing the incentive to illegally remove such objects in the first place
By Helen Stoilas | Web only
Published online 21 Jul 11

ATHENS. While in the Greece on a diplomatic visit this weekend, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stavros Lambrinidis, concerning the imposition of import restrictions on archaeological and Byzantine objects. The new memorandum, which still has to be ratified by the Greek Parliament, would make it illegal for protected works of art to enter the US without the approval of Greek authorities.

The signing of the memorandum was yet another demonstration of the US government’s vocal support of Greece’s austerity measures to help the debt-ridden country get back on its feet. “America is just as committed to Greece’s future as we are to preserving your past,” Clinton said at the signing. “During these difficult economic times, we will stand with you. We are confident that the nation that built the Parthenon, invented democracy, and inspired the world can rise to the current challenge.”
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169 Greek archaeological sites & museums have now been upgraded to have better signage & visitor facilities.

From:
Greek Reporter

Services Upgraded in 169 Museums and Archaelogical Sites
Posted on 13 July 2011 by Anastasia Chaini

The upgrading of 20 museums and archaeological sites services, for a total of 169, will be completed by the end of the summer. The remaining 149 will go up to the A1 category in the next three years, based on the time schedule of the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Paul Geroulanos. Up until now, no Greek museum or archaeological site, not even the Acropolis, has gone up so high in the rankings.

The upgrading of the services mainly concerns the issue of leaflets in two languages​​, the placement of large informational signs, and the installation of outposts and toilets for the disabled and automatic water / soft drink machines, where necessary.
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An interesting look at 10 different cases (some well known, some more obscure) where countries are involved in disputes over the ownership of looted cultural property. Some of the cases have been resolved, but many are still no closer to reaching a conclusion than the day after the artefacts were originally taken.

From:
Business Insider

10 Ancient Artifacts That Countries Are Still Fighting Over
Vivian Giang | Jul. 14, 2011, 7:51 PM

Legendary historical artifacts have traded hands from conquerors to thieves and ended up thousands of miles from their origin.

The question of ownership is extremely murky.

With a black market in looted art worth as much as $6.3 billion a year, the mantra of “finder’s keepers” can be tempting. Past and present owners, however, may claim an object, sometimes leading to disputes and wars between nations.
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