Egypt conducts global search for stolen antiquities
Following successful diplomatic efforts to recover 90 smuggled artifacts from Israel last November, Egyptian authorities continue their efforts to crack down on the antiquities trade and repatriate stolen items.
Egypt has recently succeeded in recovering 90 ancient artifacts that were to be sold in an auction house in Israel, according to a statement released by the Egyptian Ministry of State for Antiquities on Nov. 9. Meanwhile, Egyptian diplomatic efforts continue to focus on the rest of the auction houses spread throughout Jerusalem that publicly sell stolen Egyptian artifacts.
The spread of auction houses selling pharaonic artifacts in Israel is part of the file aimed at addressing Egyptian smuggled antiquities globally. For years, Egypt has made international efforts to recover these items, as part of a plan put in place by the Egyptian Ministry of State for Antiquities. The latest report issued by the department for recovered antiquities within the ministry, of which Al-Monitor secured a copy, noted that the most infamous Israeli auction house selling looted pharaonic artifacts from Egypt was the Arida Auction House. According to the report, the department for recovered antiquities learned that 90 pharaonic artifacts had been put up for sale there. The Egyptian Foreign Affairs Ministry, in cooperation with the Egyptian Embassy in Tel Aviv, succeeded in halting the sale of these 90 artifacts until the necessary measures were taken to prove Egypt’s eligibility to recover them.
The same report adds that the Ministry of State for Antiquities took international action immediately after it observed in the same auction house and another one, whose name was not mentioned in the report, the presence of up to 126 Egyptian artifacts, whose authenticity has been confirmed. They were displayed in the two auction houses in Jerusalem. The Egyptian Embassy in Tel Aviv addressed relevant parties until international efforts succeeded in preventing them from being sold. In addition, two pieces of a wooden lid of an ancient (pharaonic) coffin were observed in another auction house in Tel Aviv, according to the report.
The same report says that, from May 2012 to December 2013, the Egyptian government had succeeded in repatriating about 83 artifacts, through monitoring websites that promote the sale of such items. The report also noted that international efforts by Egypt resulted in halting the sale of 390 artifacts observed across the world, paving the way for their repatriation.
