<p>Should the Ardabil Carpet, currently at the Victoria and Albert Museum, be returned to Iran? It is the oldest dated carpet in the world and one of the finest. Of course, few people outside of Iran would be able to see it, compared to the millions who have viewed it in London. I doubt many would agree that viewing it in Iran would enhance the experience.</p>
<p>I’d hardly call Athens the Cradle of Western Civilization; that’s Iran, but shh don’t tell that to the Republicans. Whether or not you want to see them in Athens is neither here nor there, that is not the issue. As you’ve yet to answer my question I’m assuming you agree with me, that ancient artefact’s origins are irrelevant and hold no bearing in issues of ownership. So why are these marbles so singularly important to be exempt from this?</p>
<p>An ancient artifact’s origins have everything to do with the issue of ownership if the artifact was exacavated and/or exported after the effective date of whatever laws in a particular country (or whatever international treaties) prohibit the export of artifacts reflecting its cultural heritage.</p>
<p>Such laws have no bearing on the Elgin Marbles. The issue of their return is one of ethics and practicality, not legality – although there is certainly a dispute as to whether Lord Elgin did have permission from the Turks to take the marbles, since the original of the firman does not exist. I happen to think they should be returned. (Even though I doubt it will happen in my lifetime.) They aren’t simply discrete objects devoid of context, or of questionable provenance. They were torn from a structure that still exists (and was largely destroyed not by the Greeks themselves, but by the Venetians in the late 17th century), and they should be reunited with whatever else remains from that structure. Particularly given their extraordinary significance to the cultural heritage of Greece. (I don’t think anyone has to explain the significance of the Parthenon to Greek culture and history!)</p>
<p>Here’s an interesting article about the controversy at the BBC’s website:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/greeks/parthenon_debate_01.shtml[/url]”>http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/greeks/parthenon_debate_01.shtml</a></p>
<p>Visitors to the British Museum – where I’ve been many times – have plenty of other art and artifacts to see that are frankly far more spectacular than the Elgin Marbles are in that particular place. I am quite sure that 99% of the visitors would not be able to tell the difference between the marbles themselves and replicas. </p>
<p>And if the number of people who’d see them is the most important factor, let’s just send them to China.</p>
<p>PS: The cradle of “Western Civilization,” if not Greece, is Mesopotamia (now Iraq) and Egypt, not Iran. Where did you get that notion?</p>
<p>I also have to comment on Dionysos58’s remarkably condescending comment that “nobody” would see the Elgin Marbles in Athens.</p>
<p>Athens has 6 million tourists visit annually (equivalent to the British Museum’s 5.7 million, by the way!). Greece has more than 15 million.</p>
<p>That’s not nobody. And I have no doubt that the numbers would increase if the marbles were returned.</p>
<p>Egypt was not in Mesopotamia, Iran was. Britain received 27 million tourists in 2004, and London alone saw over 15 million. It is very fair to say that the number of people able to see the marbles in Athens would pale in comparison to London. How many visitors does the Acropolis Museum receive I wonder?</p>
<p>DonnaL,</p>
<p>Thank you for chiming in with that well-informed and eloquent reasoning for returning the marbles to Athens. It was beautifully put!</p>