Casting further doubts on the safety and legality of Egyptian artifacts abroad, the Louvre’s former director Jean Luc Martinez, has been accused of facilitating the illegal smuggling of artifacts over the past decade. The case, which was initially reported by Le Monde, and Le Canard enchaîné prior to its reverberation across worldwide news outlets, has revealed that Martinez, was specifically accused of “turning a blind eye” to dubious provenance certificates proving the rightful acquisition of various artifacts hailing from across the Middle East and into the Louvre in Abu Dhabi. He faces charges of money laundering and complicity in fraud. Among the artifacts were five ancient Egyptian artifacts, including a granite stela of boy-king Tutankhamun, which was acquired for “dozens of millions of euros.” A well-known figure in the world of French cultural patrimony as well as the field of Egyptology, Martinez served as a director in the prestigious and world-renown institution from 2013 to 2021. In 2021, he was nominated for the position of ‘Ambassador for international cooperation in the field of cultural heritage’, by French President Emmanuel Macron. It is a role linked with the French Foreign Ministry, seeing…
Smuggled From Egypt? Louvre’s Former Director Under Scrutiny in Artifact Trafficking Case
May 31, 2022
