Austria will return two pieces of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece, the country’s foreign minister said on Tuesday.
“I am very pleased that technical discussions are taking place between the Kunsthistorische Museum and the Acropolis Museum on mutual loans of the Parthenon frieze,” Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg told a news conference with his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias.
“I am very hopeful that the talks can move on very quickly and the marbles will be on display in Athens.”
The Vienna Museum has a small collection of marbles – just two fragments from the Parthenon’s northern frieze, but Dendias said Austria’s gesture could help in talks with Britain over its much larger hoard held at the British Museum.
Image : A Parthenon exhibit at the Vienna Museum. Credit: Kunsthistorische Museum