The Netherlands has announced on Sunday 2 November its decision to return a 3,500-year-old stone bust to Egypt, a significant artifact from the reign of Pharaoh Thutmose III.
This announcement was made by Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof during his visit for GEM to Cairo, where he met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. The sculpture, believed to have been stolen and illegally exported during the unrest of the 2011 Arab Spring, was confiscated at a Dutch art fair in Maastricht in 2022.
Dutch authorities acted on an anonymous tip regarding its illicit origin, leading to a joint investigation by Dutch police and the cultural heritage inspectorate, which confirmed that the bust had been unlawfully removed from Egypt. Following the inquiry, the dealer in possession of the piece voluntarily surrendered it.
The Dutch government has stated that it expects to hand over the artifact to the Egyptian ambassador in the Netherlands by the end of this year, although a specific date for the handover has not yet been established.
This return adds to a series of repatriations of Egyptian antiquities in recent years, which reflects a growing international commitment to cultural preservation and the recovery of stolen artifacts.
Prime Minister Schoof emphasized the importance of cultural exchanges between Egypt and the Netherlands, particularly in light of the recent opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), which marks a pivotal moment for Egypt’s cultural heritage.
Comments (0)