Egypt has secured the return of 25 ancient artefacts that were illicitly removed and trafficked to the United States, Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Expatriates Minister Badr Abdelatty announced today. The artefacts arrived in Cairo following a coordinated effort by the Egyptian Consulate General in New York, the New York City District Attorney’s Office, and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations.
The Committee for the Recovery of Smuggled Antiquities – a joint task force established in 2022 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities – was in charge of the recovery.
According to official statements, the repatriated collection spans several millennia of Egyptian civilization. It comprises stone and wooden coffin lids that once sealed burial chambers, funerary masks of pottery and gilded wood intended to guide the deceased into the afterlife, and a large alabaster vessel used for storing sacred oils. A painted portrait of a Fayyoum woman that exemplifies the Greco-Roman era – the era between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD, characterized by the intertwined influence of Greek and Roman civilizations – was also recovered. The haul includes intricately crafted metal jewellery, a rare gold coin struck under Ptolemy I (305–283 BCE), and small bronze and stone statuettes representing deities and everyday scenes.
The operation followed protracted negotiations with several private owners, who voluntarily surrendered the items once their provenance was confirmed. U.S. authorities collaborated with Egyptian diplomats to identify the artefacts in auction listings and private collections before their return to Cairo.
Smuggling of antiquities from Egypt surged after the 2011 uprising, with experts estimating that more than USD 3 billion (EGP 150 billion) worth of artefacts have been trafficked abroad in recent years. In response, Egypt has reinforced site security, digitised museums’ registry, and expanded legal cooperation under UNESCO conventions and bilateral treaties. Between 2016 and 2024, the mentioned measures facilitated the repatriation of over 200 artefacts from Europe, North America and Asia.
Minister Abdelatty concluded that each recovered piece “strengthens our connection to a civilisation that spans millennia” and reaffirmed Egypt’s determination to continue pursuing the return of any artefact found outside its borders.
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