The British museum`s attempts to improve the
"frosty relations between Russia and the West in the wake of the invasion of
eastern Ukraine" would have had more impact if the works of art loaned to the
Hermitage museum actually belonged to Britain.(Part of Elgin marbles leave UK
for first time,05/12/14) Lending the Parthenon marbles, instead of, for example,
some Turner landscapes or samples from the royal family`s vast collection, is
simply provocative, and will do nothing but cause resentment in Greece, and
display our hypocrisy to the world. How quick we are to offer judgements when
Jewish owned artwork is discovered in ex-Nazis` homes! (Modernist art
haul,"looted by Nazis", recovered by German police,04/11/13)
Jonathan Jones has rightly argued that British
museums must "face up to reality" and that "cultural imperialism" belongs in
history`s dustbin, but clearly his passionate plea fell on deaf ears.(The art
world`s shame: why Britain must give its colonial booty back,04/11/14) How can
anyone justify, in the 21st century, the looting of Greek treasure by a greedy,
profiteering British aristocrat, two hundred and ten years ago? The return of
the marbles is long overdue, would provide a welcome boost to an impoverished
Greek economy, and would display some British acceptance of guilt for its
imperial past. Lending some of the pieces to Russia is simply shameful,and
questions must be asked about the role played in this by the Secretary of State
for Culture.
Any political party with a sense of decency would
include a promise to return the marbles to their rightful home in its election
manifesto!
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