Had the British Museum not purchased the Elgin Marbles, they could have ended up in Limekilns. Thomas Bruce, 7th earl of Elgin was born in Broomhall House which overlooks the village of Limekilns.
If you want to see some surviving limekilns, the best place to go is…
Back on topic. I’d be more interested if this was an original Austen manuscript. Do we know if any UK institution outbid in the auction?
Miller
August 3, 2013, 11:18pm
22
BrainGlutton:
Well, if the Elgin Marbles go back to Athens now, of course they don’t go into limekilns, they go into a museum.
Yeah, we’ll, if I buy a painting from a guy on the cheap, and it turns out o be a lost Rembrandt, his grandson doesn’t get to show up at my font door thirty years later, demanding i give it back.
Miller:
Yeah, we’ll, if I buy a painting from a guy on the cheap, and it turns out o be a lost Rembrandt, his grandson doesn’t get to show up at my font door thirty years later, demanding i give it back.
It’s a lot more complicated than that.
**Relocation debate
Rationale for returning to Athens**
Defenders of the request for the Marbles’ return claim that the marbles should be returned to Athens on moral and artistic grounds. The arguments include:
The main stated aim of the Greek campaign is to reunite the Parthenon sculptures around the world in order to restore “organic elements” which “at present remain without cohesion, homogeneity and historicity of the monument to which they belong” and allow visitors to better appreciate them as a whole;[54][55]
Presenting all the extant Parthenon Marbles in their original historical and cultural environment would permit their “fuller understanding and interpretation”;[55]
Precedents have been set with the return of fragments of the monument by Sweden,[56] the University of Heidelberg, Germany,[57] the Getty Museum in Los Angeles[57] and the Vatican;[58]
That the marbles may have been obtained illegally and hence should be returned to their rightful owner;[59]
Returning the Parthenon sculptures (it should be noted that Greece is requesting only the return of sculptures from this particular building) would not set a precedent for other restitution claims because of the distinctively “universal value” of the Parthenon;[60]
Safekeeping of the marbles would be ensured at the New Acropolis Museum, situated to the south of the Acropolis hill. It was built to hold the Parthenon sculpture in natural sunlight that characterises the Athenian climate, arranged in the same way as they would have been on the Parthenon. The museum’s facilities have been equipped with state-of-the-art technology for the protection and preservation of exhibits;[61]
The friezes are part of a single work of art, thus it is nonsensical that fragments of this piece be scattered across different locations, just as it would be nonsensical, for example, to have pieces of the Mona Lisa scattered across different locations;
Casts of the marbles would be just as able to demonstrate the cultural influences which Greek sculptures have had upon European art as would the original marbles, whereas the context with which the marbles belong cannot be replicated within the British museum.
Rationale for retaining in London
A range of different arguments has been presented by scholars,[24] political-leaders and British Museum spokespersons over the years in defence of retention of the Elgin Marbles within the British Museum. The main points include:
the assertion that fulfilling all restitution claims would empty most of the world’s great museums – this has also caused concerns among other European and American museums, with one potential target being the famous bust of Nefertiti in Berlin’s Neues Museum; in addition, portions of Parthenon marbles are kept by many other European museums, so the Greeks would then establish a precedent to claim these other artworks;[12]
some scholars argue that the marbles were saved from what would have been severe damage from pollution and other factors, which could have perhaps destroyed the marbles,[12] if they had been located in Athens the past few hundred years;[24]
experts agree that Greece could mount no court case because Elgin was granted permission by what was then Greece’s ruling government and a legal principle of limitation would apply, i.e. the ability to pursue claims expires after a period of time prescribed by law;[24]
more than half the original marbles are lost and therefore the return of the Elgin Marbles could never complete the collection in Greece. In addition, many of the marbles are too fragile to travel from London to Athens;[24]
display in the British museum puts the sculptures in a European artistic context, alongside the work of art which both influenced and was influenced by Greek sculpture. This allows parallels to be drawn with the art of other cultures;[62]
the notion that the Parthenon sculptures are an item of global rather than solely Greek significance strengthens the argument that they should remain in a museum which is both free to visit, and located in one of Europe’s most visited cities. The government of Greece intends to charge visitors of the New Acropolis Museum, where they can view the marbles (as of 2011 the price is €5).[63]
a legal position that the museum is banned by charter from returning any part of its collection.[64]
Okay, that bumps it up to National Treasure, with headlines like, “Jane Austen Invented Paperclip!” The silly season of British news lives on.
UK has a culture minister? We don’t have a culture minister. Maybe we should. Tell people to quit putting ketchup on hotdogs, put fins back on cars. They could fund the office by enforcing sumptuary taxes on saggers.
dropzone:
Okay, that bumps it up to National Treasure, with headlines like, “Jane Austen Invented Paperclip!” The silly season of British news lives on.
It’s only a matter of time before someone is claiming Jane Austen invented Post-It notes…
I’ll get my coat.
Filbert:
I suspect that’s basically it- they’re sticking her on the currency soon, so the government is pretending extra hard to give a shit.
I mean, they clearly don’t- even the line of text they’re putting on the note makes it pretty clear whoever designed it never actually read the book it came from (it’s a line about how fabulous reading is, originally said by a character who never reads anything, but is pretending to be cultured in order to get into someone else’s pants).
I’m British, and I loathe the old biddy’s ghastly novels – I’d be delighted to see anything that had belonged to her, taken far away, for keeps. I don’t want her picture on any banknote of ours, either…
Duh…'cause everyone knows that Romy and Michelle invented them.
We don’t have any ministers. Unless you mean this sort . Or this one .
It isn’t, but it should be.
Jane Austen was an author. What have rings got to do with writing? Nothing. Therefore, who gives a crap about a stupid ring? It’s not her writing desk, or her first edition proofs, those would be heritage.
BrainGlutton:
Well, if the Elgin Marbles go back to Athens now, of course they don’t go into limekilns, they go into a museum.
I don’t know, Greece is going downhill pretty quick.
Hehe. Gee I’d love to return it, but I’ve decided it is unethical to return the stuff I’ve rightfully stolen
“OK, you can have the ring, but you can’t wear it when you’re wiping your ass or fisting Justin.”
Huh? Yes, we do. This guy’s official title is “Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries”, but other government people have ‘Minister’ in their job title. Such as Ed’s colleague in the Department for Culture
He (and I) mean we as in Americans.
More tokenistic knee-jerk bullshit from the Tories. I don’t care if we sell her ringpiece.