September 3, 2008
Was the removal of the Elgin Marbles legal?
More coverage of Professor Vassilis Dimitriadis’s study on the validity of the Firman that supposedly allowed Lord Elgin to remove pieces of the Parthenon Sculptures from the Acropolis.
From:
Artinfo
Was the removal of the Elgin Marbles legal?,Professor Questions Legality of Elgin Document
By ARTINFO
Published: August 29, 2008LONDON—A professor from the University of Crete has called into question the sole document that the British Museum has found in recent years to support its legal ownership of the Elgin Marbles, reports the Times of London.
According to the museum, the 1801 document is an Italian translation of an Ottoman firman, or license, in which the Sultan’s grand vizier was authorized to permit the Earl of Elgin to take the sculptures. Elgin took the marbles between 1801 and 1805, and Britain’s argument has long been that the move was legal, because he asked for permission from the Turks, whose empire ruled Greece at the time. They also say that he saved the sculptures from likely damage and deterioration during the Greek-Turk conflict.But Professor Vassilis Dimitriadis, a specialist in Ottoman law, now says that the original firman, on which the translation is based, could not have been legal, because it is missing the Sultan’s emblem and signature, and an invocation to God. Dimitriadis claims that, by law, only the Sultan could issue a valid firman.
- How legal was Elgin’s Firman : August 29, 2008
- Pressure mounts for the return of the Elgin Marbles : June 19, 2009
- Arguments for & against the return of the Elgin Marbles : February 14, 2009
- Mary Elgin & the Elgin Marbles : August 1, 2004
- How Scotland should be dealing with the Elgin Marbles issue : August 7, 2008
- Eight reasons why the Elgin Marbles should be returned to Greece : February 25, 2009
- Newly discovered letter indicates that Elgin had no right to remove the Parthenon Sculptures : November 6, 2002
- Ownership of the Marbles : December 9, 2008
The #ParthenonMarblesAustralia Website is Now Live « Maximos' Blog said,
03.14.12 at 11:35 pm
[…] Vassilis Dimitriadis’ opinion is summarised at the Elginism website in a report by ARTINFO, published: August 29, 2008 which […]
Nicholas said,
01.28.13 at 3:12 pm
Defiantly illegal, they were taken by thieves.