The Acropolis Museum in Greece will launch its Athens exhibition "Meanings: Personifications and Allegories, from Antiquity to Today" for public viewing this Thursday, Dec. 4, featuring a Greek vase lent by the British Museum.
This showcase coincides with the recently escalating disagreements regarding the ownership of the Parthenon Marbles, due to a canceled meeting, originally set for Nov. 27, between the Prime Ministers of Greece and Britain, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Rishi Sunak, respectively.
Although Mitsotakis himself called the incident "an unfortunate moment," he also shared that the public campaign for the "return" of the Greek artifacts had obtained renewed "vitality" after the incident with Sunak had attracted international press coverage.
This photograph taken on December 5, 2023 shows 'Meidias hydria', a 2,500-year-old Greek vase on loan from the British museum, displayed in the temporary exhibition titled "Meanings" at the Acropolis Museum, in Athens. The Greek vase has never left the British Museum in 250 years.
The British Museum and The Acropolis Museum's Continued Relations
As reported by ABC News, London's British Museum stated that it still maintains constant communication with Greece and its Acropolis Museum despite the rising tensions, increasing hope in Greek institutions that an agreement can be made in regards to displaying the Parthenon sculptures in Athens.
Last Tuesday, Dec. 5, the director of the Acropolis Museum, Nikolaos Stampolidis, maintained that his institution and its British counterpart continue to have "excellent relations" expressing the undaunted belief that the Elgin Marbles would return, in time.
"After all, culture is not only about art. It's also about relationships," he added.
About the Loaned Artifact, the 'Meidias Hydria'
The lent antique is an ancient Greek water jug dubbed the "Meidias Hydria," dated around 420 BC and was first unearthed in Italy. It became part of the British Museum's best-kept collection since it was initially acquired 250 years ago, and has been held exclusively in London throughout that period until recently when it was loaned for the exhibition.
The artifact measures up to 19.5 inches, or just about 50 centimeters, vertically. It depicts a cast of characters from Greek mythology and its pantheon all around its outside circumference. The imagery also includes the legendary hero "Herakles," known colloquially as "Hercules," who is seen sitting on the skinned mane of the iconic Nemean lion.
This photograph taken on December 5, 2023 shows a close up of the 'Meidias Hydria.'
Believed to have been crafted by Athens' master potter, Meidias, the jug is set to be exhibited at the Acropolis Museum only until April of next year, as it is expected to be included in an exhibition at the Louvre Museum in Paris, following the country's hosting of the 2024 Olympics.
The Athens Exhibition will also feature 165 artworks that were borrowed from other European museums, most of these loans were also unprecedented.
Related Article: Italy Rejects Munich Museum's Request to Return Roman Copy of Myron's Discobolus Sculpture Previously Bought by Hitler
