Egypt

Smuggled artefacts returning to Egypt

Al Ahram Weekly (Nevine El-Aref)

The two ancient Egyptian objects were saved for the nation when the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) succeeded in halting their sale in London and Amsterdam respectively as part of its campaign to stamp out the trade in illegally-smuggled artefacts.

The first object, which was listed for sale at Bonham's auction hall in London, is an inscribed limestone relief that was chopped off the tomb wall of the 26th-Dynasty nobleman Mutirdis. . . .

The relief appeared in Bonham's sale catalogue two weeks ago, and Hawass immediately wrote to the auction house requesting that the sale be stopped as the relief had been stolen and smuggled out of Egypt.

In the second case, a green 19th-Dynasty ushabti figure of a woman named Hener was removed from sale by auction with the help of Egypt's ambassador to Holland.

See the above page for the full story.

- Bizarre Results Of Auction Of Carter's Papers
Daily Mail Last month I posted about the sale of Howard Carter's papers at Bonham's (where full details of the lot are detailed) and only yesterday I was on the Bonham's website puzzling over why the lot simply wasn't showing on the list...

- Wrapping Up Smuggled Goods
Al Ahram Weekly (Nevine El-Aref) Six months after its establishment, the National Committee to Return Smuggled Antiquities has convened for the first time. Nevine El-Aref attended the meeting. The Ministry of Culture and the Supreme Council of Antiquities...

- Egypt Retrieves A 2,500-year-old Stone Relief From Bonhams
PR Inside Egypt said Monday that it retrieved a 2,500-year-old limestone relief from London after its sale was blocked by Bonhams auction house there because it had been looted from a pharaoh's tomb. A team of Egyptian archaeologists traveled to Britain...

- Egypt Secures Auction Pull-out
Egypt Daily Star News A British auction house has withdrawn a Pharaonic artifact from sale after Egyptian authorities saw the item in a catalogue and said it was missing, the ministry of culture said on Wednesday.Culture Minister Farouk Hosni said in...

- Egyptian Embassy Retrieves Stolen Antiquities
http://www.sis.gov.eg/online/html12/o250225f.htm "The Egyptian Embassy in London yesterday received seven pieces of antiquities that date back to the pre-dynasty era from Bonham after intensive contacts with the British authorities and the auction hall...

Egypt