British Museum Deputy Director Jonathan Williams said the new agreement on “cultural exchange” could be a breakthrough in the impasse with the Parthenon marbles.
The proposal is that the ancient sculptures will be donated to temporary use only if then they will be returned to London. “We call for an active Parthenon partnership with our friends and colleagues in Greece,” he told the Sunday Times.
“I strongly believe that there is room for a really dynamic and positive conversation where new ways of working together can be found,” he stressed, noting that the sculptures are “absolutely an integral part of the British Museum”.
According to theartnewspaper.com what is decisive is what the British Museum said in a statement: “We will lend the sculptures, like many other objects, to those who want to show them to the public around the world, on the condition that they take care of them and return them.”
Williams added that “we need to find a way to promote cultural exchange at a level, intensity and dynamism that has not yet been imagined. There are many wonderful things that we would be happy to lend and borrow. This is what we do,” Williams added.
The Sunday Times reported that in exchange, Greece could lend the UK treasures. However, when in June, British Museum director George Osborne made a proposal for a partnership to create the Parthenon marble Greece was not at all enthusiastic.
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