The Egyptian authorities have announced that they have recovered a bronze statue, returned by Switzerland, which dates back to the Late Period of Pharaonic Egypt.
The return of this statue comes in the context of the fruitful and constant cooperation between the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, represented by the Department of Recovered Antiquities, the office of the Deputy Foreign Minister for Cultural Affairs and the Embassy of Egypt. Egypt in Bern, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in a statement on Tuesday.
The same source reports coordination with the Swiss authorities, in particular the Federal Office of Culture, within the framework of the agreement signed between the Egyptian government and the Swiss Federal Council in the field of the restitution of stolen antiquities.
The Egyptian ambassador to Switzerland has received the artifact for repatriation to Egypt as soon as possible, the statement said.
This case began in November 2018 when “Swiss customs discovered the statue during a routine inspection”, we recall. The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities “undertook all the necessary procedures for the return of the statue, after a ministry commission certified its authenticity and confirmed that the statue belonged to the Egyptian civilization”, explains the same source, adding that the archaeological piece “was unearthed during an (clandestine) excavation and was (illegally) exfiltrated out of Egypt”.
Last year, Egypt received from Switzerland seven artifacts belonging to the ancient Egyptian civilization, including a stone statue of the Sphinx, a stone piece with a carving representing part of the idol Bes, the lid an anthropomorphic stone canopic jar, a stone slab with carvings depicting figures and texts, as well as a cylindrical alabaster vase, in addition to 36 artifacts recovered from Spain, 16 from the United States and two others from Belgium .