Among of the new trustees appointed to the British Museum is an academic expert opposed to the return of antiquities taken from their country of origin in colonial contexts, such as the museum’s most contested holding, the Parthenon Marbles.
Dr. Tiffany Jenkins, a broadcaster and sociologist, is one of several new trustees with a four-year term for the popular London institution. The four other new trustees are TV broadcaster and writer Claudia Winkleman; journalist and conservative politician Daniel Finkelstein; historian and podcaster Tom Holland; as well as former BBC radio news anchor Martha Kearney. George Osborne has been chairman of the British Museum’s board since 2021.
Jenkin notably is the author of the book Keeping Their Marbles: How the Treasures of the Past Ended up in Museums… and Why They Should Stay There, which examines the complex issue of how objects such as the Parthenon Marbles are assimilated into collecting institutions. The topic includes the rise of repatriation claims, to which Jenkin responded that museums are under no obligation to return or repatriate such artifacts even when appealed.
The Parthenon Marbles, also known as the Elgin Marbles, are a frieze of sculptures that once adorned the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. They were removed between 1801 and 1815 by Lord Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman empire, which occupied Greece then. Elgin claimed an Ottoman leader granted permission for their extraction, and the British Museum ultimately acquired the sculptures in 1816. Disputes over their rightful ownership between the UK and successive Greek governments have been ongoing for four decades.
Last July, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy announced a desire to “end the needless party politicization of these appointments and draw on the widest pool of talent,” including more people from outside of London and South East England.
The board’s other 15 members included the Indian-American Amazon executive Priyanka Wadhawan, economics professor Abhijit Banerjee, economist Weijian Shan from China as well as the Colombian-American philanthropist Alejandro Santo Domingo.
