The Elgin Marbles at The British Museum

BGUK_2518184 - The controversial collection of The Elgin Marbles/Parthenon sculptures sold by Lord Duveen of Millbank to The British Government in 1816 and then passed into the trusteeship of The British Museum in 1939. The Greek Government has long fought for their return to the country from where they were taken. The sculptures were made under the supervision of the architect and sculpture Phidias and his assistants in the 5th century. From 1801 to 1812, agents of Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin removed about half of the surviving sculptures of the Parthenon, as well as sculptures from the Propylaea and Erechtheion, and transported them by sea to Britain. Elgin argued that he had obtained authority from the Sublime Porte, the central government of the Ottoman Empire, as ruler of Greece, and therefore the then legal owner of the sculptures. The written consent has been disputed as it has never been found in the Ottoman archives. To this day The Acropolis Museum displays a portion of the complete frieze, aligned in orientation and within sight of the Parthenon, with the position of the missing elements clearly marked and space left should they be returned to Athens.