British Museum says would consider loan request for Parthenon Marbles

The British Museum said it will examine any request from Greece to loan any exhibits to the country, as part of its bicentennial independence celebrations, Greek broadcaster SKAI reported on Monday.

The museum was commenting on an interview by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis who told The Observer last week that he is willing to lend ancient Greek artifacts that have never been shown in the UK before, in exchange for a temporary loan of the Parthenon Marbles.

BM said so far Greece has made no formal requests that relate to the proposal mentioned by Mitsotakis, though it is working closely with Greek museums on various other projects.

It also noted that any request for a loan would be examined by its Board of Trustees who govern the institution and not Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as Mitsotakis stated in the interview.

Britain’s Lord Elgin removed numerous sculptures from the Acropolis temple during a period when Greece was under Ottoman rule.

The country has repeatedly requested their return since it gained independence in 1832. It stepped up its campaign in 2009 when it opened a new museum designed by Swiss architect Bernard Tschumi.