Elgin Marbles

Elgin Marbles

The Elgin Marbles, also called the Parthenon Marbles, are a collection of marble sculptures that originally decorated the Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens. Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1799 to 1803, obtained permission from the Ottoman authorities to remove sculptures from the Acropolis. From 1801 to 1812 Elgin’s agents removed about half of the surviving sculptures of the Parthenon, dismantling and in some cases damaging parts of the structure. The Marbles were transported to Britain, and were purchased by the British Government in 1816 after public debate in Parliament. They were placed on display in the British Museum, where they are now on view in the purpose-built Duveen Gallery.
The Marbles include 247 feet of the Parthenon Frieze (from an original 524 feet), 15 metopes (from an original 92) taken from the series on the south side of the Parthenon depicting battles of Lapiths and Centuars, and 17 figures from the east and west pediments. In addition, the collection contains a Caryatid from the Erechtheion, four slabs from the frieze of the Temple of Athena Nike, and architectural fragments of the Parthenon, Propylaia, Erechtheion, and the Temple of Athena Nike. Source wikipedia.

STOREROOM

Elgin Marbles belongs to the following groups: