Three valuable Islamic lamps that were looted from Cairo’s Al-Rifa’i mosque and replaced with fakes are set to return to Egypt, according to the Ministry of Antiquities. One lamp is currently at the Egyptian embassy in London, while the other two are in the United Arab Emirates and all three will be sent to Cairo. One of the lamps turned up for sale at British auction house Christie’s and aroused the suspicion of Egyptian architect and conservation activist Omneya Abdel Barr. She noticed the lantern carried the seal of khedive Abbas Helmi Pasha, the last Ottoman viceroy of Egypt and Sudan, classifying the item as an antique and identifying it as belonging to the mosque. The lamp – which dates back to the 1910s – was expected to fetch in between GBP 15,000 and 25,000 (EGP 178,885 – 298,185). Theft and looting of antiquities are not uncommon in Egypt. During a mass demonstration in Tahrir square on the 28th of January 2011, people broke into the Egyptian Museum and damaged several antiquities. About 50 items were stolen -many of them have never been recovered. In August 2013, looters ransacked an…
Three Valuable Islamic Lamps to Return to Cairo After Being Looted, Replaced With Fakes
February 11, 2016
