Official says no sign of permit in Ottoman archives, in blow to British Museum, which defends legal right to statuary

Official says no sign of permit in Ottoman archives, in blow to British Museum, which defends legal right to statuary

  • yetAnotherUser@feddit.deEnglish
    151·
    5 months ago

    Even if they had permission from the Ottomans - it’s beyond meaningless.

    It’s like arguimg Britain had permission from France to take [random African artifact located im a French colony] and therefore any and all claims by the affected country are now void.

    • MrMakabar@slrpnk.netEnglish
      62·
      5 months ago

      The Brits are claiming that they had permission of the sultan, the governor and the city of Athens. However somehow no documents proving any of that are available in Turkey or Greece.

      However Athens was part of the Ottoman Empire for 350 years and they had a lot more influence over it, then France had in Africa. It really is more like the Tsar giving permission to sell some mosaics from the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv.