In the past month, Germany has returned 21 Beninese bronzes to Nigeria and the Vatican to fragments of the Parthenon... This brings attention to one country once again – the UK.
The restitution of cultural relics has been a bone of contention, especially at the British Museum, which is embattled. British politicians regard the Parthenon sculptures in the British Museum as "British assets" and have a persistent concern that the return of one artifact necessarily leads to the return of all looted artifacts. However, would Parthenon sculpture have been more valuable if it had returned to Greece?
Parthenon sculpture at the British Museum, January 2023
When it comes to the restitution of artifacts, the defense usually focuses on how the artifacts entered the museum collections, whether they were acquired honestly or plundered by individuals or the military. In the case of Beninese bronzes, there is no ambiguity. They were plundered in 1897. British troops sacked the Kingdom of Benin in present-day Nigeria, burned the royal palace and plundered all the royal treasures.
Most of Benin's royal treasures are auctioned in London, and around 3,000 artifacts make their way into museums and private collections around the world. Last July, Germany legally transferred ownership of more than a thousand Beninese bronzes to Nigeria. Since then, following similar actions by university museums such as Cambridge and Aberdeen, smaller British institutions have joined the return of Benin's looted antiquities.
Beninese bronzes returned by Germany were exhibited at Nigeria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja in December 2022.
Each handover and return puts more pressure on the British Museum, which houses more than 900 Benin artifacts and, even more to its attention, the "Elgin Stone" from the Parthenon in Greece. These marble sculptures have been on display in the British Museum since 1832.
Earlier this year, the British Museum confirmed for the first time that it was engaged in "constructive discussions" with Greece on the return of some Parthenon marbles. The Greek side also confirmed that secret talks between the two sides have been going on for more than a year.
In a statement, the British Museum said: "We have publicly stated that we are actively pursuing a new Parthenon partnership with Greece and constructive discussions are underway as we head into the new year. ”
Greece has long insisted on its permanent return of marble sculptures. However, the British Museum's firm position is that any potential agreement will only involve lending artifacts. The British government has said it has no intention of amending the British Museum Act, which prohibits the British Museum from disposing of its collections unless they are reproduced, irreparable or do not deserve a place in the collection.
The British Museum will soon announce a long-planned £1bn modernisation programme, dubbed the Rosetta Project, which will "completely reimagine" the museum and extensively refurbish many of its galleries. The Parthenon gallery is expected to be renovated as a priority, and if an agreement can be reached, it could be an opportunity to loan some of the artifacts to Greece. However, in recent years, Greece and the international community have been calling for the return of the Parthenon sculpture, a claim that is unlikely to be met through loans.
Spectators are visiting the Parthenon sculpture at the British Museum
So what are we talking about when we talk about the return of artifacts?
In the Chinese context, restitution is almost described as a loss. Many Britons have in mind the bare walls of museums that have lost their artefacts, like ransacked storage rooms. However, it's fair to think how did at least some of the museum artifacts in the UK get their way?
This has created a continuing concern that the restitution of an object will inevitably lead to the restitution of all looted artefacts. The return of the Parthenon sculptures to Athens would open the door to the full content of Britain's major museums.
British Culture Minister Michelle Donelan described the sculptures as "British assets" in an interview earlier this month. According to this formulation, the return of the "Elgin Stone" would lead to the stripping of assets deep in the British soul.
Her claims have been criticized even in Britain. According to some opinions, the pending artifacts relate to only a few museum collections. In the case of the British Museum, which houses some 8 million artifacts, about 80,000 of which are on permanent display, the Parthenon sculptures are distinctive – not just because over the centuries various meanings and myths have been so attached to these sculptures that they look like Glaucus, the fisherman-turned-goddess of the sea in Plato's Republic, who is almost unrecognizable due to the pergolas and seaweed attached to him over the years. The idea that British politicians might see them as "national assets" was completely bizarre for the Athenians who built the temple.
Few artefacts in British museums are displayed in the same way as the Parthenon in the British Museum, and few artefacts provoke so much discussion and disagreement. However, what if, from another perspective, the return of cultural objects was not seen as a loss, but as a gain?
Although the refutation of this view is direct and obvious: artifacts are artifacts; They occupy physical space; Either there is or there is not. But the actual evidence shows a very different picture. Take the Manchester Museum, for example, a university museum with fewer constraints. Housed in a magnificent Victorian building, the museum houses artifacts from ancient Egypt and Sudan.
On 19 January 2023, the Manchester Museum is about to reopen after a £15 million refurbishment.
In February, the museum will reopen after a £15 million renovation. It's not just a physical renovation, it's also a moral renovation. Its director, Esme Ward, said in an interview that he was determined to expand the definition of the concept of care, which is at the heart of the curatorial philosophy. She believes that museums should go beyond the basic obligation to "protect" artifacts; It should also "care" for its community.
In particular, she argues that in this definition or extension of the concept of curatorship, it only makes sense for museums to see themselves as having a moral responsibility to the indigenous communities from which certain collections originate. So, after lengthy discussions, in 2020, the Manchester Museum returned 43 ceremonial artefacts to the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC).
Talking about this, Ward talked about the benefits of the institution. The most important thing is the acquisition of knowledge, the kind of tactile and empirical knowledge about places and uses that may not be found in the dry descriptions of artifacts in the collection's catalog. Gains also come from relationships with Australian institutions – relationships that could lead to long-term collaborations, including the possible loan offering to Manchester.
None of this happened overnight, and in the interview British Culture Minister Dornelland was right about the complexity of restitution. The question of who should return these items to when the communities that made them disappear or change is not simple (for example, a prankster might brazenly suggest that the Parthenon sculptures should be "returned" to Istanbul because Athens was under Ottoman rule when Elgin removed them). All of this is before the complex issue of determining how cultural objects were acquired in the first place, especially when "legal" or "within the confines of the law at the time" may require a great deal of work to eliminate conditions that may be unfair or coercive. Every object is different, and each object needs its own attention and research.
As far as Parthenon sculpture is concerned, the British Museum's latest position – as usual, in its opaque poetic discourse such as the "Oracle of Delphi" (3,000 years ago, three stone inscriptions in front of the temple of Apollo in the Greek temple of Delphi) states that "operating within the law, we will not withdraw the museum collection because it tells our common human story." ”
The situation is indeed changing, but it may not be in the direction of simply "restitution" or "retaining". Maybe the path is not binary. To break the ice, the usual way of thinking and thinking about cultural frameworks must change.
Note: This article is compiled from the Guardian commentator Charlotte Higgins' "Would Parthenon sculpture be more valuable if it were back in Greece?" Wait.