However, he said the Parthenon statues cannot return to Greece permanently
Open the possibility of borrowing in Greece Parthenon sculptors Released by the new director of the British Museum, Nicholas Callinan.
Speaking to the BBC, he said the British Museum could adopt a “library lending” approach during his tenure.
And he said the museum was eager to “do something positive” with its heritage, as discussions continued about returning the items to their countries.
Asked about the return of exhibits such as the Parthenon statues and Benin bronzes, he replied:
“I’d like to hope that some form of cooperation is possible, and I think that’s something we’d definitely like to pursue. I think it’s a little early for me to get into the details of how it might work, but I’m optimistic.”
“We cannot permanently return the Parthenon statues to Greece”
However, Callinan noted that the Parthenon statues cannot be permanently returned to Greece due to a 1963 law of parliament preventing the return of certain works, but certainly his willingness to work with other institutions around the world is breaking new ground. museum with about 8 million objects in its collection.
“We can’t give them back because of the 1963 Act of Parliament – we’re not allowed to take things out of the museum,” he said.
As for the sculptures, he emphasized that it was an exciting time for the museum and that “some of the great things that have been achieved are the result of collaboration.”
The Parthenon Sculptures are a collection of over 30 ancient sculptures from the Parthenon Temple in Greece and have been housed in the British Museum since the early 1800s.