Stolen Greek statue to return to Egypt

The Seattle Times reports (after AFP) that:

The Egyptian antiquities department says a stolen Greek-era statue that was confiscated in Canada is on its way home. Thursday's statement said the marble bust was seized by Canadian customs after it was illegally brought into the country. The 5 inch (13 centimeter) tall figure will be handed over to the Egyptian embassy in Canada. There were no further details on the age and nature of the statue. Egypt has been in negotiations over the statue's return since 2007.

This is a useful reminder that it is not just ancient Egyptian archaeological finds that are stolen from the archaeological record within the boundaries of modern Egypt. Neither is it the case that trying to prevent this sort of material being stolen and being taken out of the country to satisfy foreign markets is any kind of "nationalism". Collectors try to pretend they are some kind of enlightened cosmopolitan "internationalists" when they pay dealers to supply such objects, but they are not. They are just culture thieves.


Vignette, Cleopatra (I think it is supposed to be) looking sexy, there is nothing "sexy" about stolen antiquities or those who dirty their hands with them.