Resolving the Parthenon Marbles Dispute

The Parthenon Marbles refer to a collection of sculptures held in the British Museum originating from the Parthenon in Athens and dating from the 5th century BC. They were removed from the Parthenon in Athens and transported to England by Lord Elgin, who was British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire (1799–1803) and they ultimately ended up in the British Museum in London.  The Greek government’s position is that the Marbles were obtained illegally by Lord Elgin, that they belong to Greece and that they should be returned to Athens.  The position of the British Museum is that the Marbles were legally obtained by Lord Elgin with the permission of the Ottoman authorities.   

In this talk we’re going to take a deep dive into the history and current status of the Parthenon Marbles with Alexander Herman, director of the Institute of Art and Law in London and author of the recent book The Parthenon Marbles Dispute: Heritage, Law, Politics. 

Alexander will speak about the history of the Parthenon Marbles and how they became the cause célèbre of the larger debates around cultural heritage and restitution now taking place around the world, including in Spain. He will explain the legalities of their initial removal and the ethics of their retention by the British Museum. He will also discuss the reasons why this particular dispute has not been satisfactorily resolved and will suggest new ways of seeking resolution.

Image credits: Two horsemen about to mount and join the processions – Wikimedia

Alexander Herman

Alexander Herman is the Director of the UK-based Institute of Art and Law. He has written, taught and presented on an array of topics in relation to art, law and cultural property. His writing appears regularly in The Art Newspaper and he has been quoted widely in the press on art law topics (including in The Guardian, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Telegraph, ArtNET, The Financial Times, and The Globe & Mail). His books include Restitution: The Return of Cultural Artefacts (Lund Humphries, 2021) and The Parthenon Marbles Dispute: Heritage, Law, Politics (Hart Publishing, 2023). He is a co-founder of the LLM in Art, Business and Law at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies at Queen Mary University of London.