Twelve Ancient Egyptian Artefacts Recovered In London After Court Win

Today, after winning a lawsuit in court in London, Egypt’s embassy in the UK received 12 ancient Egyptian artefacts that were stolen and illegally smuggled out of the country in the aftermath of the January 2011 revolution.

Minister of Antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim, who described the court verdict as “historic,” told Ahram Online that the artefacts in question are now in the Egyptian embassy and are due to arrive in Cairo at the end of June.

The artefacts include a granite relief depicting a Nubian scene that was a decorative element at the base of a statue of King Amenhotep III discovered in 2000 by a German archaeological mission at the king’s funerary temple in Luxor’s West Bank.

They also include a limestone New Kingdom head of a cobra beneath the sun disk and the lotus flower, a Middle Kingdom bust of a yet unidentified man with a long wig, and a nine centimeter tall limestone head of a woman with a short wig.

Among the most distinguished objects, said Ali Ahmed, head of the section of the antiquities ministry responsible for recuperating stolen artefacts, are part of a New Kingdom limestone relief depicting a standing person crossing his hands on his chest, and another relief painted in red and yellow.

Ahmed pointed out that these objects were found by his section on the list of Bonhams and Christies auction halls in London. The ministry then undertook legal procedures to recover the artefacts.

Source : Ahram online