Greek Culture Minister
Lina Mendoni
expressed her anger late Saturday after a London Fashion Week show that took place among the friezes of the Parthenon at the
British Museum
.
Designer
Erdem Moralioglu
chose the impressive setting of the Parthenon sculpture exhibition hall in Athens to present the autumn/winter 2024 collection of his eponymous brand,
Erdem
, inspired by the Greek singer
María Callas
and her interpretation of the opera Medea in 1953.
"By organizing a fashion show in the halls where the Parthenon sculptures are displayed, the British Museum once again demonstrates its complete lack of respect for Phidias' masterpieces," Mendoni said in a statement.
"The directors of the British Museum trivialize and insult not only the monument, but also the universal values it conveys. The conditions of exhibition and storage of the sculptures, in the
Duveen Gallery
, are constantly deteriorating. It is time for the stolen sculptural masterpieces and abused shine in the light of Attica," he added.
The sculptures were taken from the Parthenon temple of the Greek Acropolis in the early 19th century by the British diplomat
Thomas Bruce
, Earl of Elgin.
Greece
has been demanding the return of the friezes for decades, arguing that they were "looted", while the
United Kingdom
says they were acquired legally.
The British Museum Act 1963 prohibits the removal of objects from the institution's collection.
But officials at the museum, which is under pressure to repatriate other foreign antiquities, are not ruling out a possible loan deal.
At the end of November, Greek Prime Minister
Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed his "annoyance" after his British counterpart
Rishi Sunak
's decision
to cancel a meeting in which they were to address the dispute over the Parthenon friezes.
The British government would have been upset by statements by Mitsotakis on the BBC a day before the meeting, in which he stated that keeping part of the Parthenon friezes outside of Greece is equivalent to "cutting the Mona Lisa (the Mona Lisa) in two." ".
Greece
United Kingdom