1. ENGLISH - Who told Elgin "the sculptures you brought us are Roman?"

Mr. Antonio Corso. (Photo: William Faithful) 

Who told Elgin "the sculptures you brought us are Roman?"

2015.08.17

protothema.gr

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Distinguished Italian archaeologist Antonio Corso recounts a forgotten historical episode - Someone unwittingly 'punished' the Parthenon robber as soon as Elgin set foot in Britain

Antonio Corso, archaeologist and scholar of ancient Greek sculpture with a great scientific work and worldwide recognition, tells protothema.gr this paradoxical historical episode:

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"In 1806, when Lord Elgin was finally released by the French and arrived in London, he was under the mistaken impression that he would be praised by the world for the first-rate sculptures on the Acropolis of Athens. Elgin believed that his own marbles would immediately be considered far superior to the Roman sculptures which, as was customary at the time, adorned the palaces and country houses of the British nobility.

At this point it should be clarified that towards the end of the 18th century there was generally a tendency to look down on Roman sculpture, as it was considered far inferior to ancient Greek, a view which is no longer accepted today.

However, Elgin was falling out. At that time in London, Richard Payne Knight was the most powerful and influential art critic, and he was also a member of the Dilettanti Club, a group of nobles who promoted the study of ancient Greek and Roman culture. Payne Knight wasted no time in launching an attack against the 'Elginians', questioning their authenticity. He persisted in this opinion throughout the decade that followed (1806-1816). Payne Knight delivered his first and most monumental comment a few days after Elgin had returned to Britain from his captivity in France. The two had met at a dinner, in Lord Stafford's tower, during which Payne Knight, in the hearing of all the fellows at that table and in a stentorian voice, said to Elgin: 'My dear Lord Elgin, lost he went your effort. The sculptures you brought are overrated: They are not ancient Greek. They are Roman, from the time of Hadrian. It should be noted that by the time this particular episode occurred, Payne Knight had not even seen the 'elginia' with his own eyes, as the sculptures were still encased. Nevertheless, his comment immediately made a great impression and was widely circulated. The arrival of the sculptures brought to Britain by Elgin constituted a threat to the belief which Payne Knight had long espoused - and which had not been disputed by anyone until then - that the sculptures of the late Roman period were superior. Payne Knight's hostile attitude dramatically limited Elgin's chances of selling the Acropolis sculptures to the British government as, given his prestige as an art appraiser, both scholars and government officials were reluctant to oppose a voice as strong as his own. The situation for Elgin remained critical for about a decade, as he himself was in debt, since the operation of extracting the Greek sculptures and transporting them to Britain was very expensive. In the end, the British state bought the ancient Greek sculptures from Elgin, but this was only done in 1816 and instead of 35,000 pounds, that is, at a price much lower than the cost that Elgin had undertaken (which is estimated at 75,000 pounds).

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  * Antonio Corso is an Italian archaeologist and art historian, specialized in architecture and ancient Greek sculpture. Author of 11 books and more than 100 specialist articles, Mr. Corso is universally regarded as an authority on Praxiteles to whom he has devoted most of his scientific work. Antonio Corso's studies are a point of reference for the scientific community in the field. Since the 80s, Greece has been Mr. Corso's base, even though his successive scholarships and collaborations with leading research centers around the world required him to relocate from time to time to countries such as Britain, Germany, Hungary , Sweden, Russia, etc. However, deeply convinced that Greece is the Land of Promise for the scholar of ancient Greek culture, Antonio Corso always returns to Athens.

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