i'HE ELGIN MARBLES
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.].
Sia,—There are two points about the Elgin Marbles which I have not seen mentioned in the Spectator. There is a perfectly valid reason why a museum big enough to house the Elgin Marbles should not be built on the Acropolis. The skyline of the Acropolis. is one of the most inspiring sights of Athens. The present little museum has been most skilfully built in a depression, so that it is almost invisible from below, and rather inconspicuous from anywhere. The Acropolis is no place for modern buildings.
The second point is that parts of the frieze and pediments are already housed in the Acropolis Museum, and in some cases fragments from the same block of marble are divided between Athens and London. The most absurd example is that of a torso in the Acropolis Museum, which has a plaster stomach. The marble stomach (so a sign informs us) is in the British Museum. I suspect that both stomach and torso would look better united.
I have often thought that it would be both a beau geste and sound aesthetically if the British Museum were to send back to Athens fragments missing from pieces of sculpture which are already there. It need not involve museum housing questions nor the question of the Elgin Marbles as a whole, as far as I can see. If there is some good reason why this is impracticable I should be glad to know of it.—I am, Sir, &c., 216 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass. EDITH BRADLEY.
Previous page
