Elgin Marbles (ĕl`gĭn), ancient sculptures taken from Athens to England in 1806 by Thomas Bruce, 7th earl of Elgin; other fragments exist in several European museums. Consisting of much of the surviving frieze and other sculptures from the Parthenon Parthenon [Gr.,=the virgin's place], temple sacred to Athena, on the acropolis at Athens. Built under Pericles between 447 B.C. and 432 B.C., it is the culminating masterpiece of Greek architecture.
..... Click the link for more information. , a caryatid caryatid , a sculptured female figure serving as an ornamental support in place of a column or pilaster. It was a frequently used motif in architecture, furniture, and garden sculpture during the Renaissance, the 18th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. , and a column from the Erechtheum Erechtheum [for Erechtheus], Gr. Erechtheion, temple in Pentelic marble, on the Acropolis at Athens. One of the masterpieces of Greek architecture, it was constructed between c.421 B.C. and 405 B.C.
..... Click the link for more information. , they were sold to the British government in 1816 and are now on view in the British Museum. Since then, the Greek government has demanded the return of the marbles. Although British claims are based on Elgin's purchase of the sculptures, Greece has contested this, and its position has many supporters.
Collection of ancient Greek marble sculptures and architectural fragments in the British Museum. They were removed from the Parthenon in Athens and other buildings by Thomas Bruce, Lord Elgin (1766–1841), ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, and shipped to England between 1802 and 1811. Elgin claimed he was saving the works from destruction by the Turks, who then controlled Greece. He secured permission from the Turks to remove “any pieces of stone” bearing figures or inscriptions. They remained in his private possession, amid mounting criticism, until 1816, when the crown bought them. The controversy still continues; the Greek government frequently demands their return.
..... Click the link for more information. , a caryatid caryatid , a sculptured female figure serving as an ornamental support in place of a column or pilaster. It was a frequently used motif in architecture, furniture, and garden sculpture during the Renaissance, the 18th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. , and a column from the Erechtheum Erechtheum [for Erechtheus], Gr. Erechtheion, temple in Pentelic marble, on the Acropolis at Athens. One of the masterpieces of Greek architecture, it was constructed between c.421 B.C. and 405 B.C.
..... Click the link for more information. , they were sold to the British government in 1816 and are now on view in the British Museum. Since then, the Greek government has demanded the return of the marbles. Although British claims are based on Elgin's purchase of the sculptures, Greece has contested this, and its position has many supporters.
Bibliography
See T. Vrettos, The Elgin Affair (1997).
Elgin Marbles
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Lapith fighting a Centaur; detail of a metope from the Parthenon at Athens; one of the Elgin …
(credit: Hirmer Fotoarchiv, Munchen)
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