Ah the weight of empire sits heavy on Albion’s shoulders.
“You don’t have to be an expert to understand that such objects [as the Parthenon marbles] belong to the countries of origin. These objects were taken without these nations being asked,” he says.
Historically, he says, the British Museum’s arguments about its rights of ownership have been based on the conviction that its guardianship is superior to that of the countries of origin. That argument is hard to sustain if so many antiquities have indeed gone missing.
“But I’m afraid that the British Museum won’t see this an opportunity,” Tsirogiannis continues. “Instead they will deal with it as an unfortunate isolated incident in the hope it will soon be forgotten.”
If you are sure that you are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth…Do you rob temples?
According to a press release announcing the completion of the review, the museum has identified about 1,500 items classified as missing or stolen. Around 350 items in the museum’s collection have gold mounts or gems missing and 140 have been damaged by tools. Just 351 of the stolen items have been recovered. The museum previously launched a website to track the items.
“We believe the majority of the portions removed from the 350 are likely to be unrecoverable because they have probably been sold for scrap,” the museum said in a news release. Some items were even sold on the auction site eBay for as little as a few pounds, the BBC reported.
