Despite the incredible resolve and persistence of a group of Egyptologists campaigning for the return of the Rosetta Stone to Egypt, they continue to face an uphill struggle.
Not just because of the restrictions that prevent British Museum trustees from deaccessioning objects. But also because of the risks trustees face removing such an important asset while setting out to raise a staggering £1 billion essential to rebuild and modernise the Museum’s tired and leaky gallery spaces.
Courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum
Following the capitulation of Napoleon’s army in Egypt almost two years later, the scholars (savants) accompanying the French expedition took the Stone to Alexandria so it could be shipped to France for permanent exhibition.
However, under the terms of the French surrender, the French army and savants were compelled under Article XVI of the Treaty of Alexandria to surrender the Stone along with their other important discoveries into the hands of the British army.
This hand-over to the British as a ‘spoil of war’ took place eventually, but only after committed French resistance.
Ironically, had the Rosetta Stone remained in Cairo, it might have escaped the terms of capitulation altogether and might now be a prize exhibit in the Louvre, owned by the French nation.
But that was not to be. After securing its ownership, the Rosetta Stone was placed on exhibition at the British Museum in 1802 and has remained on exhibition there ever since, protected by an Act of Parliament.
Only a change in this law, unforeseeable at the present time, could challenge the British Museum’s right of ownership – regardless of the circumstances of its acquisition.
