The British Museum is a public museum in Bloomsbury, London, dedicated to human history, art, and culture. Its permanent collection of eight million pieces is one of the greatest and most extensive in the world. It tells the story of human culture from its inception to the present day. The British Museum was the first public national museum in the world to cover all areas of knowledge.
Following reports that the British Museum’s chairman had covert conversations with Greece’s prime minister about the repatriation of the Parthenon Sculptures, widely known as the Elgin Marbles, the British Museum has committed not to disassemble its collection.
The Greek daily Ta Nea’s revelation is the latest twist in a long-running debate about ownership of the ancient statues, which originally stood on Athens’ Acropolis and have been a highlight of the British Museum’s collection since 1816.
Ta Nea stated on Saturday that talks between museum Chairman George Osborne and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis have been ongoing since November 2021 and are nearing completion.
While the museum did not dispute that discussions had potentially place, a spokeswoman declined to comment on the specifics of the Ta Nea report. The museum stated that it was willing to “speak to anyone, including the Greek government,” about forming a new Parthenon “relationship.”
We work within the law, as the chair of trustees stated last month, and we will not remove our wonderful collection since it offers a unique tale of our shared humanity,” the museum said in a statement posted Saturday. “However, we are looking for new beneficial, long-term collaborations with governments and communities all across the world, including Greece.” The Greek administration did not respond to the news.
