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According to reports in the British press, the British Museum is negotiating with Greece a ‘reciprocal’ loan of the Parthenon Marbles.
The Times reported over the weekend that the chairman of the British Museum, George Osborne, is negotiating over a deal that would return the marbles to Athens on a long-term basis. As part of the deal, Athens would provide the museum with ancient Greek artefacts, many of which have never been shown in the UK.
However, the British Museum would not give up its legal ownership of the sculptures, which would require a change in the law. This is a major stumbling block as Athens has insisted recently that the Parthenon Marbles belong to Greece.
According to The Times report, the deal is to hoped to come into effect later this decade when the British Museum closes for refurbishment as part of the upcoming redevelopment of the Bloomsbury site in London. Sources, however, have told The Times that no deal has been finalized and an announcement is not expected shortly.
The move is unlikely to be blocked by the British government since Prime Minister Keir Starmer has expressed several times his commitment “not to stand in the way” of a deal between the Greek government and the British Museum.
To permanently give the Marbles to Athens, the government would need to amend the British Museum Act 1963, which prevents the deaccession of items. But it is thought that Osborne’s plan to give them away on loan would side-step this requirement.
Since the Greek government claims legal ownership of the sculptures, it is extremely unlikely that they would ever return to Britain, a report by The Critic says.
Although even the 1963 Act is no longer set in stone, legislation passed by the Conservatives in 2022 meant that it became possible to side-step the British Museum Act, says The Critic.
The Charities Act enabled museums to dispose of artefacts if there was a “moral obligation” for doing so, leaving another route to the handover if the legality of a non-returnable loan is challenged.
However, the British Museum told The Critic that its position had not changed, with a spokesman noting:
Discussions with Greece about a Parthenon Partnership are on-going and constructive. We believe that this kind of long-term partnership would strike the right balance between sharing our greatest objects with audiences around the world, and maintaining the integrity of the incredible collection we hold at the museum.
Related: Majority in Britain Supports Return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece
