Partner Leila Amineddoleh was quoted in Hyperallergic about her thoughts on the Parthenon Marbles. Read the article here. When asked her opinion about the British Museum’s argument in support of retaining the Marbles, this was Leila’s full response:

Like museums established by many colonial powers, the British Museum uses the patronizing argument that it deserves to retain significant pieces of cultural heritage because it rescued them and the museum is in the best position to preserve them. The British Museum has repeated this claim through the decades to justify the possession of the Parthenon Marbles. But this is outdated for many reasons. First, the argument is nonsensical because it is disputed whether Lord Elgin actually saved the marbles. While it is true that the Parthenon suffered damage over the centuries, Lord Elgin was not an innocent party. Although he may have been given permission to remove objects not affixed to the Parthenon itself (this too is in dispute), there is evidence suggesting that Lord Elgin and his crew damaged the structure by hacking off marbles from the temple. Some argue that Elgin was one of history’s major desecrators of the Parthenon. Second, even after the marbles were placed in the British Museum, they suffered damage. As per the practice of the time, the marbles were bleached, removing important remnants from the marbles, including traces of color. Third, besides being insulting, the argument is completely irrelevant today since the New Acropolis Museum was built in 2008 with state-of-the art facilities. Fourth, there is no guarantee that London is a safer location for the marbles. During the past century, major world cities including London, Berlin, Munich, and even NYC have been targeted due to war and terrorism. It is naïve to believe that London is safer than Greece. And finally, a museum is not entitled to possess another people’s cultural heritage simply because a representative of their nation had the means to plunder objects during a vulnerable time. The marbles deserve to be in Greece, near the Acropolis, and the Greek people deserve to have the symbol of their heritage returned to them.

In regards to legal issues, the biggest hurdle for Greece to overcome is statutes of limitations which may lead a court to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Greece without an evaluation of its merits. Statutes of limitation are in place to prevent stale claims from being litigated, particularly after the destruction of evidence. As the removal of the Parthenon Marbles took place over two centuries ago, there are no living witnesses in this case to testify to the disputed chain of events and there has been a loss of valuable evidence (such as the document purportedly providing Lord Elgin with permission to remove marbles). A court will likely dismiss the matter. In my opinion, Greece’s greatest ammunition is to prohibit any cultural heritage loans to England until the British Museum agrees to participate in UNESCO mediation to determine an equitable solution to this centuries-old debate.