Lord elgin a staunch patriot had turned down lucrative offers from other governments for the treasures and argued all along that the marbles would add luster to britain s imperial image.
Lord elgin marbles british museum.
The elgin marbles refer to a collection of ancient greek sculptures and architectural details dating back to the fifth century bc which are currently kept in the british museum london.
Lord elgin began negotiations for the sale of the collection to the british museum in 1811 but negotiations failed despite the support of british artists after the government.
When the marbles were shipped to england they were an instant success among many who admired the sculptures and supported their arrival but both the sculptures and elgin also received criticism from detractors.
The 2 500 year old marble sculptures were brought over to britain in the early 19th century and.
The director of the british museum has appeared to rule out returning the elgin marbles to greece.
The elgin marbles a collection of stone sculptures and inscriptions more properly known as the parthenon sculptures was acquired by lord elgin in athens greece between 1801 and 1805 and today lives in london s british museum.
The elgin marbles are a source of controversy between modern britain and greece it s a collection of stone pieces rescued removed from the ruins of the ancient greek parthenon in the nineteenth century and now in demand to be sent back from the british museum to greece.
The objects were removed from the parthenon at athens and from other ancient buildings and shipped to england by arrangement of thomas bruce 7th lord elgin who was british.