Latest news with #BritishMuseumAct1963
Spectator
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Spectator
Museums like the V&A shouldn't be allowed to return ‘looted' treasures
Henry Cole, the first director of what would become the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), could never have imagined that in his place would follow a man who seems determined to rail against the safeguards that have helped keep the museum's collection intact. But this, sadly, appears to be the task Tristram Hunt is committed to. Hunt knew the law before he took the job Hunt, director of the V&A since 2017, has declared the 1983 National Heritage Act which prevents him from returning artefacts to their country of origin, to be 'outdated and infantilising'. In fact, it is a key reason why collections, including the V&A's, have been maintained. Britain is home to several thousand museums. Most, subject to the odd deed of trust and their constitutional obligations, are free to do as they please with the items under their care. But a handful are considered of such national importance that they are protected in law. Acts of Parliament such as the National Heritage Act, the Museums and Galleries Act 1992, and the British Museum Act 1963 strictly limit disposal of objects except in rare and carefully defined circumstances (none of which include the political motivations of a director). Hunt appears to think that the law that prevents him from casting aside the V&A's long history, and 'return(ing)' items, is not fit for purpose. Among the treasures mentioned by Hunt during his speech at the University of Cambridge's Global Humanities Network last month are Tippoo's Tiger, a wooden tiger made for Tipu, Sultan of Mysore, and an Asante crown taken from Ghana. He is seeking an amendment to the law which would give museum trustees 'autonomy' over the fate of such items. Conspicuously absent from this debate is any real reflection on the role that the claimant countries themselves play in these negotiations, and what that says about their commitment to contested objects. In 2007, Ethiopia lodged a formal restitution claim for hundreds of objects now residing in the V&A, including a crown and gold chalice taken by the British in 1872. The request was denied due to the laws prohibiting restitution from the V&A. But after Hunt became director in 2017, a possible workaround was put forward: the ambassador was informed that 'the speediest way, if Ethiopia wanted to have these items on display, is a long-term loan.' This arrangement, first hinted at by Hunt in 2018, would have allowed the objects to be sent to Ethiopia on a long term or indefinite loan with an expectation that the arrangement would be renewed ad infinitum. Ethiopia refused to play ball. 'The Ethiopian government, for perfectly understandable political reasons, took the view that…'You offering to lend stuff you stole from us' wasn't politically viable so we've reached a kind of impasse with these objects,' Hunt said. Other countries have been more accommodating. Last year a number of Ghanian objects were sent to Kumasi from the V&A for display – an arrangement which will see the objects legally protected (from damage, loss, or sale), while permitting display in a country which values them. A paper I co-authored for Policy Exchange earlier this year with Sir Trevor Phillips found that items returned unconditionally are often at serious risk. Benin Bronzes returned by museums across the world have disappeared into private collections. Some bronzes even seem to have gone missing from museums in Lagos and Benin City. Their fate remains unknown, but the story offers a stark reminder of the dangers of transferring artefacts into the ownership of other countries without question. So why is a loan unacceptable to the Ethiopian government? If Ethiopia truly wishes to display these objects for public benefit, why reject a loan that guarantees just that? Their insistence on legal ownership – rather than public display – rather weakens the moral force of their claim. The V&A is simply too historically significant to have its collection held hostage to the whims of a single, self-styled visionary. Hunt knew the law before he took the job. If he was so determined to spend his days dispatching artefacts abroad, there was no shortage of museums that would have indulged him. Instead, he accepted stewardship of one of England's great civic treasures – the first museum in the world to fling open its doors to the masses and truly democratise visual education. Cole famously installed gas lamps so that working men and women could visit after dark, helping to break the aristocratic stranglehold on art and culture. Hunt risks undoing that work: gutting the V&A of its international collections and ensuring that the experience of world history is once again a privilege reserved for those who can afford the airfare.
Telegraph
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Labour pours cold water on giving Elgin Marbles to Greece
Labour has said that British law 'puts paid' to Greek hopes for an end to the Elgin Marbles dispute. In the first public intervention on the issue, Sir Chris Bryant, the arts minister, said that the best Britain could offer Greece was a 'temporary' agreement. He made clear that legal protections for artefacts under UK law 'puts paid' to any idea of a permanent deal for the marbles. The Greek government has been locked in talks with the British Museum for a solution to the diplomatic dispute over the 2,500-year-old artworks. But they have reached an impasse, as the Greeks will not accept a loan deal because they contend that the marbles were stolen from Athens, while the museum chairman George Osborne is bound by British law not to give any collection items away. A 'bespoke' deal, neither a standard loan nor a total change of legal ownership, had been suggested as a way for the marbles to be returned to Greece for an indefinite period. Sir Chris has now insisted that under Sir Keir Starmer's Government, the best Greece can hope for is a short-term deal, which would by its very nature be unacceptable to the Greek negotiators handling talks for Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the prime minster. Speaking during a debate at the Palace of Westminster Great Committee Room on the issue of the Marbles, he said: 'Under existing law it would be impossible for there to be a permanent or indefinite loan. He added that UK law would demand that 'items are returned', and made it clear that this 'puts paid' to any talk of permanent deal for the Marbles. The law that governs the operation of the British Museum is the British Museum Act 1963, which stipulates that trustees must retain treasures for the public, and ensure all loans are temporary. The maximum period permitted for a loan, under regulations for export licences, is three years, a period that would be unacceptable to Athens. Sir Chris said the Labour Government had no intention of changing the law to permit repatriation. His intervention, the first on the issue since Labour won the 2024 General Election, comes following renewed calls for a Marbles deal. Alberto Costa, the Tory MP for South Leicestershire, told The Telegraph this week that Britain should consider returning the Marbles as a matter of national interest. Greece has floated the idea of a 'win-win' partnership with the UK, which would result in the Marbles being returned to Athens, in exchange for a rotating treasure grove of ancient Greek artefacts that could fill national and local museums in Britain. Objects that could be offered to Britain include the Mycenaean gilt Mask of Agamemnon, and the Jockey of Artemision, a large bronzework depicting a boy riding a horse. Mr Costa has urged Greece to table a proposal that would excite and benefit the British public, and possibly waive the £17 entry fee for the Acropolis Museum, where the Marbles would be held following any hypothetical deal. He said: 'Greece could show goodwill towards British citizens by allowing British citizens free access to view the marbles in their new purpose-built home. 'This proposal is not about emptying the British Museum. It's about restoring a set of uniquely significant artefacts to their original context.'
