Zürcher Nachrichten - UK warns British Museum over Parthenon Marbles

EUR -
AED 3.816944
AFN 72.88289
ALL 98.56021
AMD 411.088392
ANG 1.875083
AOA 947.753932
ARS 1065.433687
AUD 1.669672
AWG 1.870567
AZN 1.755397
BAM 1.956683
BBD 2.100828
BDT 124.334913
BGN 1.95422
BHD 0.391922
BIF 3076.158601
BMD 1.039204
BND 1.41201
BOB 7.204801
BRL 6.407079
BSD 1.040434
BTN 88.612136
BWP 14.390871
BYN 3.404536
BYR 20368.397807
BZD 2.092524
CAD 1.499157
CDF 2982.515704
CHF 0.933954
CLF 0.037408
CLP 1032.189031
CNY 7.585462
CNH 7.594217
COP 4560.920735
CRC 528.338427
CUC 1.039204
CUP 27.538905
CVE 110.313721
CZK 25.166428
DJF 185.272021
DKK 7.457629
DOP 63.126361
DZD 140.110689
EGP 53.077134
ERN 15.58806
ETB 132.441484
FJD 2.411783
FKP 0.823031
GBP 0.829545
GEL 2.920329
GGP 0.823031
GHS 15.293945
GIP 0.823031
GMD 74.822504
GNF 8988.970025
GTQ 8.016541
GYD 217.664613
HKD 8.075841
HNL 26.428927
HRK 7.454112
HTG 136.051397
HUF 412.862741
IDR 16835.00039
ILS 3.805586
IMP 0.823031
INR 88.45964
IQD 1363.001977
IRR 43737.499843
ISK 145.124956
JEP 0.823031
JMD 162.421734
JOD 0.736897
JPY 163.314013
KES 134.483219
KGS 90.410684
KHR 4172.70236
KMF 484.39899
KPW 935.282992
KRW 1509.786489
KWD 0.320282
KYD 0.867054
KZT 542.774942
LAK 22766.850158
LBP 93168.217281
LKR 308.079029
LRD 189.359987
LSL 19.174153
LTL 3.068499
LVL 0.628604
LYD 5.109306
MAD 10.468224
MDL 19.153814
MGA 4905.11917
MKD 61.50653
MMK 3375.293957
MNT 3531.214954
MOP 8.326337
MRU 41.431298
MUR 48.686326
MVR 16.003624
MWK 1804.179464
MXN 20.944792
MYR 4.665946
MZN 66.409009
NAD 19.174153
NGN 1609.737431
NIO 38.287278
NOK 11.814897
NPR 141.774841
NZD 1.844052
OMR 0.399998
PAB 1.040404
PEN 3.880951
PGK 4.220905
PHP 60.85784
PKR 289.900826
PLN 4.269595
PYG 8122.665579
QAR 3.793175
RON 4.97685
RSD 116.987308
RUB 105.862789
RWF 1440.960144
SAR 3.903854
SBD 8.712224
SCR 14.491147
SDG 625.082946
SEK 11.489413
SGD 1.410777
SHP 0.823031
SLE 23.685413
SLL 21791.590791
SOS 594.662636
SRD 36.499991
STD 21509.42403
SVC 9.104108
SYP 2611.031403
SZL 19.16865
THB 35.60781
TJS 11.366418
TMT 3.647606
TND 3.313695
TOP 2.433922
TRY 36.60024
TTD 7.067189
TWD 33.994856
TZS 2501.883206
UAH 43.731314
UGX 3823.688752
USD 1.039204
UYU 46.551007
UZS 13423.928747
VES 53.489974
VND 26447.74103
VUV 123.376377
WST 2.8711
XAF 656.224724
XAG 0.035227
XAU 0.000398
XCD 2.808501
XDR 0.797652
XOF 656.246835
XPF 119.331742
YER 260.19072
ZAR 19.280507
ZMK 9354.08592
ZMW 28.793193
ZWL 334.623254
  • RIO

    0.0700

    58.71

    +0.12%

  • CMSC

    0.1680

    24.028

    +0.7%

  • SCS

    -0.0750

    11.665

    -0.64%

  • NGG

    0.2420

    58.742

    +0.41%

  • GSK

    0.1200

    33.72

    +0.36%

  • BTI

    -0.3260

    35.914

    -0.91%

  • BCE

    -0.6250

    22.535

    -2.77%

  • AZN

    0.2650

    65.615

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    -0.0040

    23.556

    -0.02%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0700

    7.2

    -0.97%

  • BCC

    -0.1950

    122.555

    -0.16%

  • JRI

    -0.0010

    12.059

    -0.01%

  • VOD

    -0.0600

    8.33

    -0.72%

  • BP

    -0.0350

    28.565

    -0.12%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    60.5

    0%

  • RELX

    -0.3600

    45.11

    -0.8%

UK warns British Museum over Parthenon Marbles
UK warns British Museum over Parthenon Marbles / Photo: OLGA MALTSEVA - AFP

UK warns British Museum over Parthenon Marbles

The UK government Monday stressed the British Museum is legally forbidden from breaking up its vast collection, after a report said it could possibly hand the Parthenon Marbles back to Greece.

Text size:

The ancient sculptures were taken from the Parthenon temple in Athens in the early 19th century by British diplomat Thomas Bruce, the earl of Elgin.

Secret talks have been taking place between museum chair George Osborne -- who is a former UK finance minister -- and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for a year, the newspaper Ta Nea reported in Athens on Saturday.

The talks about the marbles' "possible return" are in an "advanced stage", it said.

The British Museum's trustees are free to talk to whom they want, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's official spokesman told reporters in response.

But he stressed: "We have no plans to change the law, which prevents removing objects from the museum's collections, the British Museum's collections, apart from certain circumstances.

"Our position on that hasn't changed," the spokesman said.

Under the 1963 British Museum Act, which updated previous legislation, the museum can only sell or give away items from its collection under three limited conditions.

They include if the trustees decide that "the object is unfit to be retained in the collections of the Museum and can be disposed of without detriment to the interests of students".

Sunak's spokesman refused to say if the museum might be able to seek a special licence from the government to break up the so-called Elgin Marbles collection.

The British Museum says its entire collection stretches to more than eight million objects, and only about 80,000 of them are on public display at any one time.

They include many items now considered by other countries as loot taken by builders of the British Empire, and the government has long been wary of setting a precedent with the marbles.

In a statement on Saturday, the museum said: "We operate within the law and we're not going to dismantle our great collection, as it tells a unique story of our common humanity".

But it also said it wanted "a new Parthenon partnership with Greece".

Britain insists the marbles were legally taken by Lord Elgin when he directed workers to strip entire friezes from the Parthenon.

Elgin sold the marbles to the government, which in 1817 passed them on to the British Museum. Greece maintains they were stolen and has long campaigned for their return.

W.O.Ludwig--NZN