Phidias (attributed)
Parthenon Sculptures
c. 447–432 BC
The so-called Elgin Marbles comprise roughly half of the sculpture that adorned the Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis: sections of the continuous Panathenaic frieze, a number of the high-relief metopes, and figures from the east and west pediments, all carved between 447 and 432 BC under the direction of Pheidias. Removed in the early 19th century under Ottoman authority by Lord Elgin, they have been at the British Museum since 1817 and are at the heart of a long-running debate over the restitution of cultural heritage to Greece.
Exhibition Venue
Image source: Wikimedia Commons