British Museum Lends Ancient Greek Vase to Acropolis Museum

A woman admires the 'Meidias hydria', an Ancient Greek vase from 420 BC, on loan from the British museum for the temporary exhibition titled Meanings' at the Acropolis Museum in Athens, Greece, on Dec. 5, 2023. Louisa Gouliamaki/Reuters

ATHENS—The British Museum has lent for the first time in 250 years an ancient Greek water vase, the Meidias hydria, to the Acropolis Museum in Athens for an exhibition which begins this week and runs until April.

The loan comes amid a dispute between Greece and Britain over the permanent return of the Parthenon Sculptures from the British Museum to Athens which led to the cancellation of a meeting between the country’s two leaders in London last week.