Focus on Elgin Marbles and explain the Acquisition.
In November 1798, the Earl of Elgin was appointed as "Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of His Britannic Majesty to the Sublime Porte of Selim III, Sultan of Turkey" (Greece was then part of the Ottoman Empire). Before his departure to take up the post, he had approached officials of the British government to inquire if they would be interested in employing artists to take casts and drawings of the sculptured portions of the Parthenon. According to Elgin, "the answer of the Government ... was entirely negative."Elgin decided to carry out the work himself, and employed artists to take casts and drawings under the supervision of the Neapolitan court painter, Giovanni Lusieri. According to a Turkish local, marble sculptures that fell were being burned to obtain lime for building. Although his original intention was only to document the sculptures, in 1801 Elgin began to remove material from the Parthenon and its surrounding structures under the supervision of Lusieri. Pieces were also removed from the Erechtheion, the Propylaia, and the Temple of Athena Nike, all inside the Acropolis.They were brought from Greece to Malta, then a British protectorate, where they remained for a number of years until they were transported to Britain. The excavation and removal was completed in 1812 at a personal cost to Elgin of £74,240 (equivalent to £4,700,000 in 2019 pounds). Elgin intended to use the marbles for a private museum to enhance the art of the nation, but a costly divorce suit forced him to sell them to settle his debts. Elgin sold the marbles to the British government for £35,000, less than half of what it cost him to procure them, declining higher offers from other potential buyers, including Napoleon.
Napoleon Acropolis lime Ottoman Empire British government Neapolitan part of the Ottoman Empire Temple of Athena Nike marble Parthenon Athena British protectorate Minister Plenipotentiary Erechtheion Malta Giovanni Lusieri Propylaia Plenipotentiary Greece Selim III