Essay On Elgin Marbles

In modern society, the topic of ownership and custodianship of ancient and prehistoric artefacts raises an up roaring debate. Each country and its regions within, have their own laws in regards to the rights of cultural property. It is believed by many that the custodian and the owner should be the culture to which the artefact belongs to but at the same time, in developing countries the economy is poor and they don’t have the resources to maintain the originality of these artefacts.

The Elgin Marbles, a significant denominator of Greek History, are a present concern under the debate, ‘Who owns the past?’ generally between curators and the Greek government. Initially, the Greeks held possession of the Elgin Marbles, in Athens but they were removed by the British Lord
Currently, the British Museum holds 643 Aboriginal artefacts including the Aboriginal bark artefacts. This statistic show cases the power and popularity of the museum and its aim to display cultural heritage from across the seas. The Aboriginal communities are demanding for the return of their artefacts but they may loan artefacts to the British Museum- acting as custodians, but the artefacts will return to the Indigenous peoples- the owners. The bark arts are making a return to Australia but only for an exhibition in Canberra. Aboriginal activists argue that they are only adding to the fuel by bringing the artefacts back for strictly a visit only. About 12 years ago, the Aboriginal community did attempt to regain ownership of their cultural property under the Aboriginal Culture Heritage Act, but they failed to do so. Museum curators argue with the fact that Britain invaded Australia, giving them the right to take what they found. The curators also argue that they are the first to publicly display Aboriginal artefacts, globally. The Indigenous peoples are still fighting for what they believe is rightfully