The head of a statue of King Ramses II has been returned to Egypt, following successful efforts by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to track down and recover the smuggled artefact.
The statue head was officially handed over to the Egyptian authorities in July by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Egyptian authorities, played a crucial role in locating and repatriating the stolen piece.
“The recovery of this artefact is a testament to the tireless efforts of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, represented by the Supreme Council of Antiquities, to retrieve Egyptian antiquities that have been illegally smuggled out of the country,” said Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
He expressed his gratitude for the cooperation between various entities, including the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the International Cooperation Department at the Egyptian Prosecutor General’s Office, the Swiss authorities, and the Egyptian Embassy in Bern.
Shaaban Abdel Jawad, Director General of the Department of Antiquities Recovery and Supervisor of the Central Department of Antiquities Ports elaborated on the details of the recovered artefact.
“The recovered piece is the head of a statue of King Ramses II, dating back more than 3,400 years,” Jawad said. “It was stolen from his temple in Abydos and smuggled out of Egypt illegally over three decades ago. The head is part of a larger statue depicting King Ramses II seated alongside several Egyptian gods.”
Upon retrieval, the statue head was deposited in the storerooms of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square for necessary maintenance and restoration work.
The Department of Antiquities Recovery, in collaboration with the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Swiss authorities, successfully established Egypt’s ownership of the statue head and its illegal smuggling out of the country. This achievement aligns with the joint cooperation agreement between Egypt and Switzerland to combat the illicit trafficking of cultural property.
The department had initially identified the statue head in 2013 while it was on display for sale in a London gallery. The artefact subsequently reappeared in several countries before surfacing in Switzerland.
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