The conditions under which the Parthenon Sculptures are exhibited at the British Museum are “insulting and dangerous,” and the marbles “cannot await the completion of the British Museum’s ‘masterplan’ like prisoners,” Greek Culture & Sports Minister Lina Mendoni said.
In a statement released by the ministry on Sunday, following questions on flooding issues at the London museum, Mendoni said that “the basic decades-long argument the British used to keep the Parthenon Sculptures in London was that these were exhibited under better conditions at the British Museum than what Greece offered.”
But, she stressed, 12 years ago Greece built the Acropolis Museum, one of the best in the world, where Parthenon Sculptures are already exhibited and awaiting their completion with the those looted by Lord Elgin. “The British argument has been refuted long ago,” she added.
The minister was responding to questions in a recent report by Art Newspaper, which said that the British Museum was leaking water following intense rainfall on July 25. The British Museum has said in a statement that rooms were shut to the public for conservation work delayed due to the coronavirus, adding that a strategic masterplan would transform the museum in the future.
Source: ANA-MPA