An artefact stolen at Saqqara during security breakdown after January 2011 revolution and smuggled out of Egypt eventually ended up in hands of a French citizen, who then tried to sell it in auction. On learning the origin of the object in his hands, the seller now wants to give it back to Egypt.
Antiquities Minister Mohamed Ibrahim told Ahram Online that the piece in question is 19-cm tall and shows a part of an ancient Egyptian coffin inscribed with three hieroglyphic lines depicting the different titles of the deceased. Ibrahim explained that the piece was stolen from the store gallery of the Louvre mission at Saqqara archaeological site during the security vacuum that followed the January 2011 revolution. Ali Ahmed, head of the antiquities ministry's section for retrieving stolen artefacts, said that the ministry knew in February that the cartonnage piece was in the possession of a French citizen who was selling it by auction. The ministry then took all the required procedures to return the piece to Egypt. Although the French citizen has all the needed documents to prove he owns the artefact, he said he was willing to give it back to Egypt in appreciation of the country's effort to protect its heritage.Yeah, right. If he cared he'd not have bought it, would he? What "papers" does the seller have for an item stolen not more than three years ago and smuggled out of Egypt? More to the point, who issued them? Can we have the name of the dealer who sold it to him? Presumably the Egyptians will be passing on his details to the relevant authorities so this link in the chain of movement of the stolen artefact can be investigated and any wrongdoing punished.
Nevine El-Aref , 'Egyptian ministries working to get back stolen cartonnage' Al-Ahram 6 Apr 2014
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