By: Leah
Edited by Harith Syafiee
The British Museum has long been a controversial organisation. Having been erected in 1753, the museum is infamous for its smorgasbord of artefacts from all over the world. Funnily enough, the majority of artefacts within this museum are the complete opposite of ‘British’. From the Parthenon (or Elgin, depending on who you ask) Marbles of Athens to the Rosetta Stone of Egypt, the British Museum is responsible for the unethical removal of many cultural and historical artefacts from all over the world.
However, Britain stands to return many of these historical artefacts. In a news article from NPR pertaining to the Acropolis Museum, the spokesperson of the British Museum, Hannah Boulton, stated:
"They are now museum objects. They are objects of world art. And as such, there is no problem in terms of them being divided between two different museums and telling two different, but complementary stories."
In essence, they do not intend to return these artefacts to their countries of origin. Many countries whose artefacts were taken do not see eye-to-eye with this statement. The Parthenon Marbles, for example, stand incomplete in both the Acropolis and the British Museum. The daughters of Athens are separated; one currently residing in Britain, while her sisters stand tall in Athens. In an astounding statement, a museum was erected in Athens, housing the rest of the Parthenon marble and many other artefacts. Furthermore, the missing marbles were replaced by plaster models, shining light on the significant differences between the off-white marble and the sparkly white decoys.
But the question still remains:
Why can’t they return the artefacts?
The simple answer to this is guilt by admission. If the museum returns these precious artefacts, they must concede to the fact that they did indeed steal them. With Britain’s history, it is not surprising that they do not want to admit to such a fault (*cough* colonisers cough). Many may speculate on the reasons why the British Museum wants to keep these artefacts. To an extent, it’s money. Yes, one may argue that admission into the museum is free, but the United Kingdom does benefit in both the economic and tourism sectors due to the British Museum.
Another reason many have argued that the British Museum is controversial is the report of missing artefacts within the museum. Over 1500 artefacts have either been classified as stolen or missing. Some of these artefacts were later discovered on eBay or other auctioning sites. There was also the controversy that museum officials themselves were auctioning off the artefacts to private collectors, but the validity of these claims remains unsolved.
Proving the ownership of the artefacts has proven to be a tall task, but the repatriation of stolen artefacts will serve as the return of identity, culture, and history for many nations. While the actual moving of the artefacts may be risky, modern technology has come a very long way since the 18th century. Furthermore, if a museum can send artefacts from thousands of years ago to another nation on a lease, then a museum can send fragile artefacts on a one-way trip back to where they came from.
For your perusal :)
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