Page 1 of 2

Elgin Marbles

Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 1:35 pm
by lpm
Just give them back. Nobody in the country cares, except liberal metropolitan elites. Only foreigners ever go to a so-called "museum" to see them.

Re: Elgin Marbles

Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 1:45 pm
by dyqik
As someone else here had said on Twitter, it's now trivial to 3d scan and reproduce them so they'd pass any basic museum visit.

And to use that as a base to replace the heads and paint them in the bright colors they'd have originally been painted in.

Same goes forvmany other museum exhibits - statues or dinosaur bones, for example, often are plaster casts already.

Re: Elgin Marbles

Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 1:54 pm
by Gentleman Jim
Oooh A project for D&T/art pupils - draw your version of the Elgin Marbles and print them on the 3D printer

Re: Elgin Marbles

Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 2:16 pm
by monkey
dyqik wrote:
Wed Feb 19, 2020 1:45 pm
As someone else here had said on Twitter, it's now trivial to 3d scan and reproduce them so they'd pass any basic museum visit.

And to use that as a base to replace the heads and paint them in the bright colors they'd have originally been painted in.

Same goes forvmany other museum exhibits - statues or dinosaur bones, for example, often are plaster casts already.
There's already copies knocking about. I saw a set in Nashville in the copy of the Parthenon they have there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenon_(Nashville)

Re: Elgin Marbles

Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 2:17 pm
by Fishnut
I think they should scan the marbles (which I feel almost sure they must have done already) then return the originals and display the copies. And do that for all the contested items. The British Museum should lead the way on repatriation of artefacts that were stolen or dubiously procured. There is no good reason for us to hold onto these things. There's definitely an argument to be made that collections should be split to protect them should anything befall the museum (the fossils I work with for my PhD are split across several museums around the world for this reason) but that should be a dialogue with the home country, not a unilateral 'we "bought" this 300 years ago so it's ours now'.

I really think that for western museums to continue to be a place of relevance they need to directly and honestly address the consequences of the 'age of exploration' and the empire. Why do we think it's ok to display skeletons and mummies? Why do we think it's ok to claim ownership of items that are sacred to the people whose ancestors made them? I love museums and have learned so much from them but it's increasingly clear that there is a refusal to acknowledge the darker sides of their collections. Even the origin of the British Museum is inextricably tied to the slave trade yet you'd barely know it at the museum.

Re: Elgin Marbles

Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 2:27 pm
by Boustrophedon
Gentleman Jim wrote:
Wed Feb 19, 2020 1:54 pm
Oooh A project for D&T/art pupils - draw your version of the Elgin Marbles and print them on the 3D printer
Wrong, no one makes anything in DT now. Draw a 3D version of the Elgin Marbles and show that they could be printed.

Re: Elgin Marbles

Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 2:27 pm
by Boustrophedon
They're rubbish not worth parthenon.

Re: Elgin Marbles

Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 2:37 pm
by cvb
Give them back you thieving f.ckers, and the rest of artefacts stolen during the empire.

You obviously won't but you should.

Re: Elgin Marbles

Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 2:53 pm
by Gfamily
An act of parliament would be needed, as there's a law to prevent repatriation of museum artefacts.

cba to Google details

Re: Elgin Marbles

Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 4:02 pm
by Gentleman Jim
Boustrophedon wrote:
Wed Feb 19, 2020 2:27 pm
Gentleman Jim wrote:
Wed Feb 19, 2020 1:54 pm
Oooh A project for D&T/art pupils - draw your version of the Elgin Marbles and print them on the 3D printer
Wrong, no one makes anything in DT now. Draw a 3D version of the Elgin Marbles and show that they could be printed.
Hey, I've made several things in DT over the last couple of years - oh.......................

Re: Elgin Marbles

Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 4:23 pm
by jimbob
dyqik wrote:
Wed Feb 19, 2020 1:45 pm
As someone else here had said on Twitter, it's now trivial to 3d scan and reproduce them so they'd pass any basic museum visit.

And to use that as a base to replace the heads and paint them in the bright colors they'd have originally been painted in.

Same goes forvmany other museum exhibits - statues or dinosaur bones, for example, often are plaster casts already.
Dippy, for example. Although that's now a cast which is important in its own right as an artefact.

I was at a conference dinner in the National Museum of Wales, whilst it was there, and no red wine was allowed.

Re: Elgin Marbles

Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2020 12:13 am
by Martin_B
monkey wrote:
Wed Feb 19, 2020 2:16 pm
dyqik wrote:
Wed Feb 19, 2020 1:45 pm
As someone else here had said on Twitter, it's now trivial to 3d scan and reproduce them so they'd pass any basic museum visit.

And to use that as a base to replace the heads and paint them in the bright colors they'd have originally been painted in.

Same goes forvmany other museum exhibits - statues or dinosaur bones, for example, often are plaster casts already.
There's already copies knocking about. I saw a set in Nashville in the copy of the Parthenon they have there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenon_(Nashville)
Been there. Nashville was a much more likeable city than I was expecting. It helped that we met the wife of either the mayor or some other bigwig who took us on a tour and then offered her car and chauffeur for the day in case there was anything else we wanted to see.

Re: Elgin Marbles

Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2020 8:00 am
by Grumble
cvb wrote:
Wed Feb 19, 2020 2:37 pm
Give them back you thieving f.ckers, and the rest of artefacts stolen during the empire.

You obviously won't but you should.
f.ck all to do with the British Empire. We bought them off the Ottoman Empire. Whether they were entitled to sell them is the question but we didn’t steal them.

Re: Elgin Marbles

Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2020 8:08 am
by cvb
Grumble wrote:
Thu Feb 20, 2020 8:00 am
cvb wrote:
Wed Feb 19, 2020 2:37 pm
Give them back you thieving f.ckers, and the rest of artefacts stolen during the empire.

You obviously won't but you should.
f.ck all to do with the British Empire. We bought them off the Ottoman Empire. Whether they were entitled to sell them is the question but we didn’t steal them.


Nothing dodgy there then.

Re: Elgin Marbles

Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2020 11:46 pm
by nefibach
dyqik wrote:
Wed Feb 19, 2020 1:45 pm
As someone else here had said on Twitter, it's now trivial to 3d scan and reproduce them so they'd pass any basic museum visit.

And to use that as a base to replace the heads and paint them in the bright colors they'd have originally been painted in.

Same goes forvmany other museum exhibits - statues or dinosaur bones, for example, often are plaster casts already.
You'll be wanting the world expert on how they were originally painted, then, to come up with the colour schemes.

Get your sunglasses on before you click.

https://buntegoetter.liebieghaus.de/en/

Re: Elgin Marbles

Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2020 7:11 am
by jimbob
nefibach wrote:
Thu Feb 20, 2020 11:46 pm
dyqik wrote:
Wed Feb 19, 2020 1:45 pm
As someone else here had said on Twitter, it's now trivial to 3d scan and reproduce them so they'd pass any basic museum visit.

And to use that as a base to replace the heads and paint them in the bright colors they'd have originally been painted in.

Same goes forvmany other museum exhibits - statues or dinosaur bones, for example, often are plaster casts already.
You'll be wanting the world expert on how they were originally painted, then, to come up with the colour schemes.

Get your sunglasses on before you click.

https://buntegoetter.liebieghaus.de/en/
Really interesting, thanks nefibach.

Re: Elgin Marbles

Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2020 11:14 am
by Allo V Psycho
nefibach wrote:
Thu Feb 20, 2020 11:46 pm
dyqik wrote:
Wed Feb 19, 2020 1:45 pm
As someone else here had said on Twitter, it's now trivial to 3d scan and reproduce them so they'd pass any basic museum visit.

And to use that as a base to replace the heads and paint them in the bright colors they'd have originally been painted in.

Same goes forvmany other museum exhibits - statues or dinosaur bones, for example, often are plaster casts already.
You'll be wanting the world expert on how they were originally painted, then, to come up with the colour schemes.

Get your sunglasses on before you click.

https://buntegoetter.liebieghaus.de/en/
Fascinating, thanks, nefibach.

Re: Elgin Marbles

Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2020 5:27 pm
by nefibach
You're both welcome! :D

Re: Elgin Marbles

Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2020 10:49 pm
by plebian
That is a super site and program. Thanks

Re: Elgin Marbles

Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2020 10:50 pm
by raven
dyqik wrote:
Wed Feb 19, 2020 1:45 pm
And to use that as a base to replace the heads and paint them in the bright colors they'd have originally been painted in.
Wish they'd repaint Ely Cathedral in its original colours. That would be awesome.

The Ashmolean had a couple of casts painted in original colours last time we wandered through the statuary bit. They was very pretty, especially this guy: https://frieze.com/article/polychrome-r ... rta-statue

Also, I thought the Pitt Rivers, which is basically stuffed with artefacts from other cultures, handled it pretty well when someone pointed out they'd got hold of things they shouldn't really have: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/201 ... -artefacts

Pitt Rivers is really interesting. I was really surprised that they had a couple of Hawai'ian cloaks in there. Did not expect to see those in the UK. (They'd been given as gifts I think.)

Edited for crap typing. Again.

Re: Elgin Marbles

Posted: Sat Feb 22, 2020 3:57 am
by greyspoke
I love the Pitt Rivers as well though I haven't been there for ages. I always imagined Rivers himself to be a swashbuckling cowboy, hence the saying "nobody crosses Pitt Rivers and lives".

Re: Elgin Marbles

Posted: Sat Feb 22, 2020 2:59 pm
by dyqik
greyspoke wrote:
Sat Feb 22, 2020 3:57 am
I love the Pitt Rivers as well though I haven't been there for ages. I always imagined Rivers himself to be a swashbuckling cowboy, hence the saying "nobody crosses Pitt Rivers and lives".
"You can't cross the same Pitt Rivers twice."

Re: Elgin Marbles

Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 3:15 pm
by TopBadger
I think we should give them back - they can pay the shipping costs though!

Re: Elgin Marbles

Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 9:35 am
by JQH
Just tell the Greek government they can collect and make their own arrangements for transportation.

Re: Elgin Marbles

Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 12:34 pm
by dccarm
We could just leave a card saying we tried to deliver it but no one was home.