Reflections on art and architecture by TIME critic Richard Lacayo.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

an16456b_l.jpg
Rosetta Stone, Ptolemaic Period, 196 BC — The British Museum

Just two weeks ago Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum, was telling me that Egypt's loan request to his museum for the Rosetta Stone, which it wants temporarily for the opening of Cairo's Grand Museum in 2012, was made in precisely the right way. (This in contrast to Greek attempts to borrow the Elgin Marbles, which get sticky because the Greeks won't acknowledge first that the Trustees of the British Museum are the marbles' rightful owners.) Let the record show that MacGregor wasn't prepared yet to say that his museum would say yes to the Egyptians either. Now Zawi Hawass, Egypt's very high profile culture minister, is complaining that the Brits are stalling.

I think this is called conducting negotiations in public.

  • Print
  • Comment

Add Your Comment:

You must be logged in to post a comment.
Looking Around Daily E-mail

Get e-mail updates from TIME's Looking Around in your inbox and never miss a day.

Quotes of the Day »

Get & Share
CHRISTINE LINDBERG of Oxford's U.S. dictionary program, on why unfriend was chosen as Word of the Year by the New Oxford American Dictionary; it refers to removing someone on a social-networking site like Facebook

Stay Connected with TIME.com