1990/11/01 by Ian Jenkins · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Social Sciences · Arts and Humanities · #Archaeological Research and Protection #Classical Antiquity Studies #Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation #Acropolis #Sculpture #Art #Visual arts #Archaeology #Art history #History
paper · doi:10.1017/s0068245400015598
openalex publication_date 1990/11/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
The development of our present-day knowledge of the Parthenon sculptures can be charted in the history of the British Museum's casts of them. Following their acquisition in 1816, the Elgin Marbles were added to periodically in an attempt to render the collection – at least where the Parthenon sculptures were concerned – as complete as possible. These additions include some fragments of original sculpture but, mostly, they consist of casts of sculpture found on the Acropolis following Greek independence. The activities of the Greek Archaeological Society on the Acropolis, removing later accretions and restoring the monuments, created a desire in Athens for casts of the Elgin Marbles. The story of the two-way traffic in casts between Athens and London is told here and documented from the archives of the British Museum.