Although some of the Lewis Chessmen are being loaned to Scotland, many people feel that they should be returned on a more long term arrangement.

From:
Daily Telegraph

Letters
Time to repatriate the Scottish chessmen
The Lewis Chessmen belong in Scotland, not England
Published: 12:01AM BST 16 Oct 2009

SIR – While it is fantastic to see 24 of the collection of 82 Lewis Chessmen go on tour in Scotland (report, October 2), it is now time for the return of all the 12th-century chessmen to the Western Isles.

The pieces, crafted from walrus ivory and whales’ teeth, were unearthed in 1831. Of the 93 chessmen, only 11 are in Edinburgh’s National Museum of Scotland, while 82 are in the British Museum in London. It is simply not good enough that they are occasionally lent back to the Western Isles. Ownership should pass to the people of these Isles, where they were found, and where they should be put on permanent display.

Alex Orr
Edinburgh

Some further coverage of the news that some of the Lewis Chessmen will be loaned to Scotland temporarily, but that they will definitely not be returning long term. As expected, many are not happy with this decision by the British Museum.

From:
Press and Journal

Letters Page
Published: 02/10/2009
Lewis Chessmen returning

SIR, – I refer to your story (October 1) about the Lewis Chessmen returning to Scotland.

Once again, the authorities have graced us with their kindness, and agreed to “lend” the nation of Scotland her own items of cultural significance. How thoroughly decent of them.

The Scottish Government should be applauded and criticised in equal measure. We have seen the Stone of Destiny, arguably Scotland’s most important historical and cultural item, return to its rightful place, but with steel shackles attached. And now, some more of the Lewis Chessmen return to their adopted homeland, but please do not get comfortable, as England wants them back.
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As anticipated, an announcement has been made that some of the Lewis Chessmen will return to Scotland. The British Museum has also used the announcement though to make it clear that they never intend on these artefacts to leave the institution permanently – if anything making their views on the subject clearer & more emphatic than before, falling back again on the justification of the widely discredited Universal Museum argument.

From:
Press and Journal

October 2, 2009
Lewis Chessmen go north — but they’re just visiting
Tom Maxwell

The Lewis Chessmen are being brought north for an important tour of Scotland after the SNP government said it would contribute £75,000 towards the costs of a new exhibition to be staged by the British Museum in London and the National Museum of Scotland.

Nationalist ministers remain committed to the long-term goal of bringing the 12th-century figures to Scotland on a permanent basis, and hope the exhibition will further that aim.
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More coverage of the expected news that some of the Lewis Chessmen in the British Museum will be loaned to Scotland’s National Museum temporarily.

From:
Press and Journal

Chessmen to make move back to Scotland
Checkmate for First Minister as iconic Lewis pieces are finally repatriated
By Cameron Brooks
Published: 01/10/2009

CULTURE Minister Mike Russell is expected to announce today that the British Museum in London has agreed to return some of the world’s most famous chess pieces to Scotland.

The Press and Journal understands that trustees will lend the National Museum of Scotland a substantial number of the 82 Lewis Chessmen pieces it holds on a temporary basis.
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A announcement is expected to be made shortly, that some of the Lewis Chessmen in the British Museum will temporarily be returned to Edinburgh. This follows numerous public demands in the past for their return.

Whilst it is great that the British Museum is finally seeing the sense of making artefacts more accessible to those who culturally identify with them, this particular exercise suggests that it is acceptable to return artefacts that were legally purchased, whilst the many that were acquired in questionable circumstances are not suitable candidates for being reunified. I’m not quite sure what we should understand from this.

From:
Scotsman

Lewis Chessmen to be reunited in Scotland for first time in 150 years
Published Date: 01 October 2009
By David Maddox
Scottish Political Correspondent

MANY of the 93 Lewis chessmen housed in London and Edinburgh will be reunited for the first time for more than 150 years for a tour of Scotland, it will be announced today.

Culture minister Mike Russell will unveil details of a deal with the British Museum to temporarily reunite the 12th-century chessmen found on a beach on the Isle of Lewis in 1831.
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An interesting story only because of its location in Elgin (yes – I know that Lord Elgin’s house was not actually in Elgin). A local museum wants artefacts returned, or compensation for artefacts that are being held onto by a national museum that they were sent to for research purposes.

From:
Numismaster

Museums Squabble Over Treasure Coins
By Richard Giedroyc, World Coin News
July 20, 2009

Usually the British treasure trove laws work favorably to protect the amateur finder, professional archaeologists and museums that may become involved in any find. I said, “Usually.”

In recent years, all sorts of artifacts have been found in a field at Clarkly Hill in Burghead, Scotland, by people with metal detectors. Among the many artifacts are some Roman coins, two gold finger rings believed to date from the fifth and the 12th centuries, a gold earring believed to be Roman, and some odd and curious or primitive gold ring money understood to date from the Bronze Age.
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Whilst the British Government consistently try to avoid dealing with the issue fo the Elgin Marbles, the devolved Scottish Parliament has indicated that it supports their return.

From:
Scotsman

Scots ministers seek Elgin Marbles’ return
Published Date: 28 June 2009
By By Eddie Barnes Political Editor

THE Elgin Marbles should be returned to Greece and displayed at the new Acropolis Museum, the Scottish Government has declared.
Ministers say that there is a clear right for the priceless sculptures – currently housed in the British Museum in London – to be returned to their place of origin, where they were removed in 1801 by the British diplomat Lord Elgin.

The pressure for the move has increased in recent weeks after the opening of the Acropolis Museum in the shadow of the Parthenon. Previously, it has been claimed that there was no adequate place to house the marbles.
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The British Museum is trying to make the Lewis Chessmen the central feature of a new gallery, in the hope that this will weaken the argument for their return to Scotland.

From:
Evening Standard (London)

Your move … Scots want chess set back
Louise Jury, Chief Arts Correspondent
25.03.09

THE BRITISH Museum has put a set of elaborately carved chess figures at the heart of a new gallery despite demands that they be returned to Scotland.

The 82 Lewis Chessmen, which are between 800 and 900 years old and made from walrus and whale ivory, were seen in a Harry Potter film and inspired the children’s TV series Noggin The Nog.
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Edinburgh’s copy of the Parthenon is going to undergo restoration. It is interesting, that what starts as a mere copy can become a monument important enough to be seen as an entity to be restored in its own right – what started as a clone attains an identity of its own. The works will be on a somewhat smaller scale though the Acropolis restoration in Athens.

From:
Scotsman

‘Athens of the North’ icon to undergo a Greek revival
Published Date: 01 November 2008
By CHRIS MARSHALL

IT’S the iconic monument which helped cement Edinburgh’s reputation as the “Athens of the North” and looms large over the city’s skyline.

Now the National Monument on Calton Hill is to get a Greek revival as part of a £1 million project to breath new life into the Capital’s most prized monuments.
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After a lot of coverage at the start of the year, it appears that efforts to secure the return of the Lewis Chessmen to Scotland are still underway, with the Scottish Culture Minister due to meet Neil MacGregor to discuss the issue.

From:
Stornoway Gazette

Chessmen could celebrate ‘Homecoming’ on Lewis
25 September 2008
By Michelle Robson

THE LEWIS Chessmen could be coming home next year as part of Scotland’s national celebrations.
2009 is the Year of the Homecoming and Scottish Ministers are hoping the British Museum will agree to return the historical items to their finding place.

Culture Minister Linda Fabiani said this week that she was due to meet the Director of the British Museum on October 6 to discuss the issue further.
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Recently, Greece has offered to loan Britain various artefacts – some never exhibited before – in exchange for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures.

From:
Sunday Herald

Greece offers relics for Marbles swap
Athens of the North to host a major exhibition of classical relics … if British Museum agrees to hand Elgin statues back to Olympic city
By Liam McDougall Arts Correspondent

EDINBURGH will be granted a major exhibition of priceless Greek treasures if Britain agrees to a controversial deal to allow the return of the Elgin Marbles to Athens.

Sources close to talks between the British and Greek governments have said the Scottish capital – dubbed the Athens of the North – has been earmarked by Greece as the host city for the event under new compromise proposals.
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