https://arab.news/7ntk6
- Athens has for decades demanded the return of the priceless sculptures, saying they were looted in the early 19th century by Lord Elgin, British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire
ATHENS: Greece’s culture minister on Monday slammed as “provocative” the British Museum’s first-ever fundraiser that had guests dining in a gallery hosting the Parthenon Marbles.
Saturday’s star-studded ball — seen as an answer to the Met Gala — drew the likes of Mick Jagger, Naomi Campbell, Janet Jackson and Kristin Scott Thomas, in addition to London Mayor Sadiq Khan and former prime minister Rishi Sunak.
“The safety, integrity, and ethics of the monuments should be the primary concern of the British Museum, which once again demonstrates provocative indifference,” Lina Mendoni said in a statement.
The ball was far cheaper than the Met Gala. Tickets were sold privately to around 800 people, costing £2,000 ($2,685) per head, compared to the whopping $75,000 price tag for a Met Gala pass.
“Repeatedly and consistently, the Ministry of Culture has condemned the dinners, receptions, and fashion shows organized in museum spaces where monuments and works of art are exhibited.”
“Such actions are offensive to cultural assets and endanger the exhibits themselves. This is exactly what the British Museum administration did last Saturday, once again using the Parthenon Sculptures as decorative elements for the dinner it organized,” Mendoni said.
The British Museum, which boasts one of the largest permanent collections on the planet, said the ball would aim to “celebrate London’s status as one of the world’s leading cultural capitals” and become a new fixture of its social calendar.
Athens has for decades demanded the return of the priceless sculptures, saying they were looted in the early 19th century by Lord Elgin, British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.
London insists they were legally acquired, and successive British governments have noted that the issue is up to the British Museum to decide.
Under chairman George Osborne, the former Tory chancellor of the exchequer, the British Museum has been engaged in long talks with Greek officials on a formula that would allow the Marbles to be displayed in Athens.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has also repeatedly sought to raise the issue with his British counterparts.
In December, Osborne said the London institution was exploring an “arrangement where at some point some of the sculptures” could be sent to Athens in return for Greece lending the museum “some of its treasures.”