Showing results 1 - 12 of 40 for the month of October, 2010.
There is now an edited (one minute long) version of the video of last weekend’s protest outside the British Museum organised by METOPO. Well worth watching, even if you didn’t find the time to see the full ten minute one that I posted originally.
You can read more details about the protest itself here.
An English language press release about last week’s demonstration outside the British Museum organised by METOPO. The Exhibition was to protest in favour of the return of the Elgin Marbles to Athens.
From:
METOPO
PRESS RELEASE
The slogan “Bring them Back” echoed all over the British Museum!
London, 25 October 2010The afternoon of Saturday October 23rd outside the British Museum, was strikingly different to any other. The flashes of the visitors were immortalising not any of the Museums’ stolen exhibits, but rather, the demonstrators standing in the front yard of the Museum, who wearing black t-shirts, holding banners and placards, were conveying the demand of the Hellenes anywhere in the world: “Bring Them Back”.
The demonstration for the return and restoration of the Parthenon Sculptures, organised by the ‘METOPO Cypriot Student Movement UK’ and the non-governmental organisation ‘Artclick’, under the campaign “Bring Them Back”, was an ultimate absolute success, as the people embraced it and dynamically became part of it.
Read the rest of this entry »
There is now an Elginism group on Linkedin. It is connected to the main website, so you should be able to read all updates within the group if you prefer to follow the site that way.
You can join the group here.
There are many different reasons put forward for the restitution of the Elgin Marbles to Athens, most of which are strong enough to stand up as sufficient justification on their own, even if the other arguments were removed. In this case, it is the argument for presenting the sculptures in the context of the Parthenon itself that holds the most weight with Nick Thornsby.
From:
Nick Thornsby’s blog
Thoughts on the Parthenon Marbles
Posted on September 17, 2010I’m in London today, because this morning I took part in a ‘bloggers’ interview’ with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. I’ll be blogging about that soon.
However no visit to London is complete without a visit to one of my favourite places – the British Museum. I particularly wanted to go today because a couple of months ago I was in Athens and visited the New Acropolis Museum, where most of the Parthenon marbles are displayed – many of the remaining marbles, of course, are displayed here in the British Museum.
Read the rest of this entry »
The British Museum delayed the loan of the Cyrus Cylinder to Iran for a long time due to worries over the security of the loan & guarantees that the artefacts would be returned afterwards. After extensive re-assurances, the loan eventually went ahead. Many in Iran are still questioning whether it should be returned to the British Museum when the four months are up.
From:
Guardian
Iran lays claim to British Museum’s Cyrus Cylinder
Conservative Iranian newspaper raises concern that rare 6th century BC Babylonian artefact may not be returned
# Ian Black and Saeed Kamali Dehghan
Wednesday 15 September 2010 20.06 BSTIt was not an easy decision for the British Museum to lend one of its most treasured artefacts to a country which has a notoriously prickly relationship with the UK. So curators in London are paying close attention to an Iranian threat not to return the famous Cyrus Cylinder — now embroiled in political intrigue in the Islamic Republic.
The 6th century BC Babylonian object, sometimes described as the world’s first human rights charter, arrived in Iran at the weekend and is due to be displayed for four months at the national museum.
Read the rest of this entry »
As was speculated at the time of the law being passed, the Benevento Missal will be the first item to be officially returned under the Holocaust (Stolen Art) Restitution Act.
The points made originally about this particular return in relation to the law that allows it still stand. There is no evidence that the Missal was looted by the Nazis, or had any connection to the Holocaust. The law however allows its return, because of the time period in which it was removed from Italy. This highlights the piecemeal legislation implemented (when it is politically advantageous to do so) opening up holes in the anti-deaccessioning rules that govern the UK’s largest museums. The Human Tissue act before it opened up similar holes. The fact that holes need to be opened up for so-called special cases highlights the need for a full review of the legislation to cover all artefacts in museums in the UK, that they can be returned from collections when necessary.
From:
BBC News
15 September 2010 Last updated at 16:55
British Library returns manuscript looted during WWIIA 12th Century manuscript which was housed in the British Library is to be returned to Italy because it was looted during World War II.
The 290-page Beneventan Missal was taken from the Metropolitan Chapter of the Cathedral City of Benevento, Naples, in 1943.
Read the rest of this entry »
Although it only has the Cyrus Cylinder on a short term loan, there are hopes in by some in Iran that it will be registered (by Iran) as an Iranian artefact, emphasising the fact that although it may not be kept in the country, it still belongs to them.
From:
Tehran Times
September 21, 2010
Iranian society calls for national registration of Cyrus Cylinder
Tehran Times Culture DeskThe Iranian Society of Architecture Luminaries has proposed that Iran register the Cyrus Cylinder on the National Cultural Heritage List.
“We should seize this opportunity caused by the arrival of the Cyrus Cylinder in the country to register it on the list,” society director Alireza Qahhari told the Persian service of the Mehr News Agency on Monday.
Read the rest of this entry »
As part of the annual Battle of Ideas, a two day event organised by the Institute of Ideas, there is a debate about who owns culture, where the Elgin Marbles no doubt feature in the discussion. Geoff White from the Marbles Reunited campaign will be one of the speakers there.
From:
Battle of Ideas
Losing our marbles? Who owns culture?
Sunday 31 October, 12.30pm until 1.30pm, Courtyard Gallery Battle for the PastThe ownership of the Parthenon Marbles has been disputed since their removal from Athens in the early 19th century, by Lord Elgin. Some argue the sculptures belong in Greece, where they were carved almost two and a half thousand years go. Advocates of repatriation insist that the marbles are part of the heritage of Greece, and should never have been taken in the first place. Others feel that the marbles are now part of the history of the British Museum, and point out that in their current Bloomsbury home they can be seen in relation to other cultures, as part of world history. But with the opening of the new Acropolis Museum in Athens, a state-of-the-art centre, claims for their return are growing stronger.
Read the rest of this entry »
Many of the previous arguments that have been raised by the British Museum for their continuing retention of the Elgin Marbles have been invalidated since the opening of the New Acropolis Museum. They still refuse to acknowledge this fact though. Almost anyone who visits the new museum realises that it represents a far better place for displaying all the surviving sculptures withing site of the Acropolis, yet the British Museum continues to claim that the museum chances nothing.
From:
Brown Daily Herald
Anthony Badami ’11: Arguing against Elginism
By Anthony Badami
Opinions Columnist
Published: Thursday, September 16, 2010The view of Athens from atop the Acropolis, more accurately known as the Citadel of Athens, is heart-stirring and breathtaking. The matrix of bleached-white stone which comprises the city below provides an impressive foreground, while the surrounding cerulean sea is pleasant and welcoming in comparison, a description proven even more appropriate as the city’s furthest points seem to submerge into the shimmering water. Eyeing the bay, it is as if you are watching a shower of minute diamonds drizzle into an undulating azure pool. All of these wondrous components taken together have the effect of rendering the scene cinema-like. It is truly a view worth seeking.
Unfortunately, much of the cultural and political accompaniments to this surreal scenery are either ruined or relocated or both. Through centuries of pillaging, theft, tribal conflict and religious warfare, a significant portion of Athenian classical art and architecture has been ransacked and stolen.
Read the rest of this entry »
More coverage of the restoration works to the Temple of Athena Nike on the Acropolis that have recently ended.
From:
Athens News Agency
10/21/2010
Temple of Athena Nike on Acropolis restored(ANA-MPA) — Standing a full metre taller than before and without the scaffolding that enveloped it for the past decade, the slim temple of Athena Nike atop the Acropolis in central Athens was again in full view as of this month following the completion of restoration work.
The small temple was among the ancient marble structures on the Acropolis that had suffered the most extensive damage over the years, even as far back as 1687 when it was badly damaged by a mortar shell lobbed by besieging Venetians against an Ottoman garrison barricaded on the hill.
Read the rest of this entry »
A video has been made of the METOPO organised protest for the Bring Them Back campaign outside the British Museum last weekend.
From:
METOPO
Το “BRING THEM BACK” ήχησε μέσα στο Βρετανικό Μουσείο!
Λονδίνο, 25 Οκτωβρίου 2010Το προχθεσινό απόγευμα στο Βρετανικό Μουσείο στο Λονδίνο δεν ήταν το ίδιο. Αυτό που τραβούσε τα φλας των επισκεπτών δεν ήταν κάποιο από τα «κλεμμένα» εκθέματα του, αλλά οι διαδηλωτές με τις μαύρες μπλούζες, οι οποίοι στεκόντουσαν στο κεντρικό προαύλιο κρατώντας πανό και πλακάτ, μεταφέροντας έτσι το μήνυμα και την απαίτηση όλων των απανταχού Ελλήνων: “BRING THEM BACK”.
Read the rest of this entry »
Niki Dollis who has worked with the Organisation for the Construction of the New Acropolis Museum for the entire duration of the project (& will be known to anyone who visited the site before the building opened), has written a book for children about the actual process of construction of the new museum & the reasons that a new museum was needed.
The book came out earlier this year – it has currently sold out, but I’ve been told that more copies are printed & it will soon be available again in the shop at the New Acropolis Museum.
From:
Greek Reporter
Greek Australian Writes Storybook: “Building the New Acropolis Museum”
Posted on 18 September 2010 by Apostolos PapapostolouThe book “Building the New Acropolis Museum” is by Niki Dollis and illustrated and designed by Elena Zournatzi. The children’s book tells the story of the realization of a dream. As Niki Dollis mentions in her introduction, it is “a book about hope, expectation… but also hard work for the construction and preparation of the New Acropolis Museum”. The storybook is published by Livanis Publishing Organization. Dollis is the Director of Mr. Pantermalis’ office, who is the head of the New Acropolis Museum.
Through the 60 pages of her book Dollis familiarizes young and all readers, with the notion of a museum. It is a very interesting subject to begin with especially when it serves as an open window to the world of ancient Greece, such as the New Acropolis Museum.
Read the rest of this entry »