Marble diplomacy: an Elgin sculpture travels to Russia

A remarkable marble sculpture from the Elgin Marbles collection in the British Museum has been sent for display — the first time ever to any museum — to the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

An undated handout image released by the British Museum of a headless sculpture of the river god Ilissos. The British Museum has loaned the sculpture, one of the Elgin Marbles, to the Hermitage Museum in Russia, the first time one of the Parthenon sculptures has been lent. The trustees said Friday the marble sculpture of the river god Ilissos —a reclining male figure from the West Pediment of the Parthenon, will be part of a major exhibition on Greek art. The Hermitage is marking its 250th anniversary. (AP Photo/British Museum)

A recent cultural handshake between the United Kingdom and Russia may not help thaw the frosty political relationship that has developed in recent years between the two countries, though it most certainly underscores the importance of shared civilizational concerns.

A remarkable marble sculpture from the Elgin Marbles collection in the British Museum has been sent for display — the first time ever to any museum — to the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, which is marking the 250th anniversary of its foundation.

The sculpture will go on display in the Hermitage from December 6 to January 15.

The figure on loan is believed to be of the River Ilissos, a stream along the banks of which Socrates is believed to have walked and discussed philosophy. Although the statue is headless, the marble figure is of a man heaving himself sideways out of the water, a powerful fluid masterpiece of statuary.

Any criticism over the statue’s loan, if it should crop up, is likely to come from within the collective of dissenting voices that have long held that the Marbles belong to Greece. Indeed, the British Museum would not lend the statue to Greece for fear that it may not be returned.

Subject of dispute

The subject of a long-standing dispute between the U.K. and Greece, the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum constitute 30 per cent of the extant collection of 5th century classical marble art structures that once belonged in the temple of the Parthenon in Athens.

Named after Thomas Bruce, the Earl of Elgin, who acquired the rights in a one-sided colonial transaction with the Ottomans, the marbles were shipped to England in 1812.

There was opposition to the dubious acquisition even then — the poet Byron being one.

However, when Greece demanded its repatriation after its independence, and Britain refused, the outcry grew stronger. Today the demand is supported by a wide spectrum of organisations and individuals — from the UNESCO to Hollywood actor George Clooney after his 2014 film The Monuments Men .