Legal Ownership of the Parthenon Marbles Essay -- Parthenon Marbles

Legal Ownership of the Parthenon witsThe controversy began almost one hundred years ago. Between 1801 and 1812, Thomas Bruce, seventh Earl of Elgin and British Ambassador to the queer Empire, removed several sculptures from the Parthenon in capital of Greece and shipped them to England, where he sold them to the British Museum in 1816. 167 years later, Melina Mercouri, Greek Minister of Culture, bespeak that the Elgin marble be returned. This request sparked one of the greatest debates the art solid ground has ever known. For the past two decades, people have argued over who has the rights to these Marbles. The Greek note is certainly understandable from a cultural and emotional point of view. However, from the rack of legality and logic, it is hard to make a solid case against the Marbles go on presence in Britain. Legally, Greece could call for the return of the Parthenon Marbles if it could prove that they were falsely taken and never belonged, legally or morally, t o the British. If Lord Elgins title were proved defective, then the same would hold true for Englands title. In post to determine whether or not this is the case, the first question that must be raised(a) is whether the Ottomans (then the recognized government of Greece) had the authority to transfer property rights to Elgin. Under outside(a) law at the time, acts of Ottoman officials with respect to property under their authority were valid. steady if those actions were not widely supported, they were still legal. The Ottoman officials had a solid learn to authority over the Parthenon because it was public property, which the successor nation acquires on change of sovereignty. Therefore, it is take a crap that the Ottomans had the power to give Elgin property rights. The next question that must be raised is whether or not they did. This has proven to be slightly less clear. Elgin obtained from the Ottoman government in Constantinople a formal written instrument calle d a firman. This document statesIt is incumbent on us to provide that they i.e. Elgins party meet no opposition in walking, viewing, or contemplating the pictures and buildings they may wish to design or copy and in any of their works of fixing scaffolding ... around the ancient Temple of the Idols, or in modeling with chalk or gypsum the express ornaments and visible figures ... or in excavati... ...ons. New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Louvre in Paris, and all otherwise western museums contain vast collections of work from other parts of the piece. These marbles symbolize the cultural property in all of the worlds museums, and this debate affects them all.Works CitedDaley, Michael. Phedias Albion, Arts Review Volume 52 (2000) 34-35.Goldsmith, John. The Gymnasium of the Mind, The Journals of Roger Hinks 1933 1963. Salisbury Michael Russell Publishing, 1984.Hitchens, Christopher. The Elgin Marbles Should They be Returned to Greece? London New York Verso, 1998. Jenkins, Ian. The 1930s cleaning of the Parthenon Sculptures in the British Museum, The British Museum (2001) http//www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/parthenon/Kurtz, Donna (ed.). Bernard Ashmole 1894-1988, An Autobiography. Oxford Oxford Books, 1995.Merryman, John Henry. Thinking about the Elgin Marbles Critical Essays on Cultural Property, Art, and Law. London Kluwer Law worldwide Ltd, 2000. St. Clair, William. The Elgin Marbles Questions of stewardship and accountability, International Journal of Cultural Property Volume 8 Issue 2 (1999) 391-521. Legal Ownership of the Parthenon Marbles Essay -- Parthenon Marbles Legal Ownership of the Parthenon MarblesThe controversy began almost one hundred years ago. Between 1801 and 1812, Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin and British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, removed several sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens and shipped them to England, where he sold them to the British Museum in 1816. 167 years later, Melina Mercouri, Greek Minister of Culture, requested that the Elgin Marbles be returned. This request sparked one of the greatest debates the art world has ever known. For the past two decades, people have argued over who has the rights to these Marbles. The Greek position is certainly understandable from a cultural and emotional point of view. However, from the standpoint of legality and logic, it is hard to make a solid case against the Marbles continued presence in Britain. Legally, Greece could call for the return of the Parthenon Marbles if it could prove that they were wrongly taken and never belonged, legally or morally, to the British. If Lord Elgins title were proven defective, then the same would hold true for Englands title. In order to determine whether or not this is the case, the first question that must be raised is whether the Ottomans (then the recognized government of Greece) had the authority to transfer property rights to Elgin. Under international law at the ti me, acts of Ottoman officials with respect to property under their authority were valid. Even if those actions were not widely supported, they were still legal. The Ottoman officials had a solid claim to authority over the Parthenon because it was public property, which the successor nation acquires on change of sovereignty. Therefore, it is clear that the Ottomans had the power to give Elgin property rights. The next question that must be raised is whether or not they did. This has proven to be slightly less clear. Elgin obtained from the Ottoman government in Constantinople a formal written instrument called a firman. This document statesIt is incumbent on us to provide that they i.e. Elgins party meet no opposition in walking, viewing, or contemplating the pictures and buildings they may wish to design or copy and in any of their works of fixing scaffolding ... around the ancient Temple of the Idols, or in modeling with chalk or gypsum the said ornaments and visible figure s ... or in excavati... ...ons. New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Louvre in Paris, and all other western museums contain vast collections of work from other parts of the world. These marbles symbolize the cultural property in all of the worlds museums, and this debate affects them all.Works CitedDaley, Michael. Phedias Albion, Arts Review Volume 52 (2000) 34-35.Goldsmith, John. The Gymnasium of the Mind, The Journals of Roger Hinks 1933 1963. Salisbury Michael Russell Publishing, 1984.Hitchens, Christopher. The Elgin Marbles Should They be Returned to Greece? London New York Verso, 1998.Jenkins, Ian. The 1930s Cleaning of the Parthenon Sculptures in the British Museum, The British Museum (2001) http//www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/parthenon/Kurtz, Donna (ed.). Bernard Ashmole 1894-1988, An Autobiography. Oxford Oxford Books, 1995.Merryman, John Henry. Thinking about the Elgin Marbles Critical Essays on Cultural Property, Art, and Law. London Kluwer Law Internati onal Ltd, 2000. St. Clair, William. The Elgin Marbles Questions of stewardship and accountability, International Journal of Cultural Property Volume 8 Issue 2 (1999) 391-521.