"Egyptian Museum artefacts stolen during Jan uprising for sale in Qena" - Provocation?

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Egyptian state-owned newspaper Al-Ahram claims it has received videos showing antiquities, which include statues and papyrus fragments, allegedly stolen from the Egyptian Museum during the January uprising against Mubarak (Anon., "VIDEO: Egyptian Museum artefacts stolen during Jan uprising for sale in Qena", Ahram Online, Monday 16 Jul 2012).

Ahram Online has received several videos showing smuggled artefacts that were allegedly stolen from the Egyptian Museum during last year's uprising, and are displayed in the governorate of Qena in Upper Egypt. The videos show the date and place where the artefacts were displayed for sale. The source asked to remain anonymous but alleged that the artefacts were stolen from the museum and transported through three governorates -  Kafr El-Sheikh, Sharqiyya, and finally Qena. 

The video to which they refer readers however was posted on Youtube on July 3 2012 by "Ahramgate":

But then Al-Ahram write:

According to government official Ahmed Saleh, who is director of Abu Simbel antiquities in Luxor [sic, this is him presumably -PMB], the artefacts shown include the head of a statue of King Tuthmosis IV, and a royal papyrus fragment with his name in hieroglyphic writing on the royal papyrus, which seem to be genuine antiquities. Saleh added that the videos show four antique statues of the ancient Egyptian scorpion goddess, which were previously in the Egyptian museum, as well, as well as a statue painted in black which bears the name of King Seti (father of the great Egyptian King Ramses II). Saleh stressed that the final inventory of items lost from the Egyptian Museum in the recent instability has not been released yet, although it is essential for recovery efforts.

Indeed. Well, I don't know what video he was looking at, but it is presumably not the one to which Al-Ahram points its readers (embedded above). This shows a rather odd-looking naos shrine in somebody's house with something which presumably is intended to be a crude miniature sarcophagus (presumably a female, by the vulture cap) propped up in front of the open doors. This looks like a fake, with stick figures down the sides. After running the video camera down its front and sides, the sarcophagus is taken away and the shrine doors are shut by unseen hands (revealing a uraeus and star frieze at the bottom), and the cartouche of Tuthmosis III (not fourth) is visible. Then we see a brown crinkly something on the floor which from its vignettes is supposedly an Amduat papyrus but it does not look too convincing to me neither stylistically nor the material it is made of (and where the cartouche is on it I could not say). The "four antique statues of the ancient Egyptian scorpion goddess, which were previously in the Egyptian museum, as well, as well as a statue painted in black which bears the name of King Seti (father of the great Egyptian King Ramses II)" must be on another video. The tombs of both mentioned Tuthmosids were 'discovered' in 1898 by Victor Loret, and both had been robbed. Tomb KV34 (Tuthmosis III) already has the Amduat painted on the walls (in cartoonish stick-figures).

My feeling is this video is a scam (like this one with which it shares some features). It is either a joke, or produced by a dealer to invite contacts from those interested in doing business (not necessarily in the items shown) or it is political provocation, using the motif of "destruction of our heritage" to some kind of political ends. There might be a very good reason why certain people in Qena governorship might be wanting to undermine the position of their counterparts in Cairo.  I look forward to seeing further discussion of these items by other archaeobloggers.

UPDATE 19.07.2012
A statement was published by staff of the Egyptian Museum slamming the accusations and  stating the objects are fakes (see my later post for details).