Greece accuses the British Museum of “provocative indifference” regarding the Pink Ball | Parthenon Marble

The British Museum has been accused of “provocative indifference” and “covering Greek culture in the shadow of a Barbie doll” by officials in Greece after it hosted a star-studded fundraiser that included guests seated near the Parthenon Marbles.

Days after Mick Jagger, Naomi Campbell, Alexa Chung, Miuccia Prada, Manolo Blahnik, Kristin Scott Thomas and dozens of other celebrities and billionaires paid £2,000 each to attend the museum’s inaugural Pink Ball, Greek officials were still gung-ho about an event that Greece’s culture minister described as insulting.

Lina Mendoni said the museum was guilty of “provocative indifference” towards treasures that embody the pinnacle of classical Western art. Images of tables laden with decorations for a lavish meal just steps from the ruins also raised ethical questions, she said.

She said: “The safety, integrity and ethics of antiquities should be the main concern of the British Museum… once again it shows provocative indifference.”

Guests at the event, which raised more than £2.5 million for the museum, were treated to a drinks reception in the museum’s large courtyard before the main event of the evening – dinner within sight of 5th century BC sculptures – in the Dauphine Gallery. A silent auction was also held throughout the evening.

But many in Athens on Thursday saw the ceremony’s greatest achievement as relations between the museum and the Greek government reaching a new level at a particularly sensitive time amid efforts to resolve a cultural dispute over the sculptures. For decades, Greece has struggled to reunite the artworks with other pieces that once adorned the Parthenon.

As anger intensified, a growing number of officials appeared more disaffected than ever.

The Speaker of the Greek Parliament, Nikitas Kaklamanis, rebuked the British Museum for its decision to “cover Greek culture in the shadow of a Barbie doll” while criticizing the “provocative use” of the sculptures and branding them a “tourist attraction”.

“At a time when the Parthenon sculptures, born in Athens 2,500 years ago, are anxiously awaiting their return to their homeland… the British Museum is displaying provocative and opulent tables in the Dauphine Gallery with our sculptures as a backdrop,” he said, denouncing the institution’s “cynical” goal of “raising money for its own benefit.”

These monuments, sculpted by Phidias, Pericles’ master sculptor, adorned the Parthenon’s massive frieze before being removed in highly controversial circumstances by Lord Elgin, England’s ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, more than 200 years ago. Bankrupted by his endeavors, Elgin sold it to the British government in 1816.

Nikolaos Stamboulides, general director of the Acropolis Museum, whose upper gallery was specially designed to display the sculptures within sight of the monument, said the “tasteless” incident provided indisputable proof, once again, that the artefacts needed to be reunited in the place where they were carved.

The British Museum declined to comment.

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