US EditionNetherlands Returns 3,500-Year-Old Sculpture to Egypt
The 3,500-year-old sculpture, depicting an official from Pharaoh Thutmose III's reign, was confiscated in 2022 and returned after a 2025 investigation confirmed it was looted during Arab Spring unrest.
- On Thursday, the Netherlands handed a 3,500-year-old Egyptian stone head back to Egypt after art dealer Sycomore Ancient Art voluntarily surrendered it amid provenance doubts.
- Confiscated in 2022 at a Maastricht art fair, the statue was found by a 2025 investigation by Dutch police and the Dutch cultural heritage inspectorate to be plundered and likely removed during the 2011 Arab Spring unrest.
- Experts say the head came from Luxor and depicts a senior official from Pharaoh Thutmose III's reign.
- Responding to the handover, the ambassador said 'It means a lot to us when it comes to tourism and economy, because at the end of the day, when tourists come to Egypt to see these things, it definitely makes a difference', but plans to display the sculpture remain unclear.
- Gouke Moes, Dutch Culture Minister, framed the handover as consistent with the Netherlands' return policy, while Emad Hanna said Egypt tracks artefacts in exhibitions and auctions.
13 Articles
13 Articles
The New Arab
Netherlands returns 3,500-year-old looted sculpture to Egypt
The Netherlands on Thursday returned a 3,500-year-old sculpture to Egypt after the looted artefact resurfaced at a Dutch art fair in 2022. An investigation by Dutch police and the cultural heritage inspectorate confirmed in 2025 that the sculpture had been plundered and unlawfully removed from Egypt, most likely during the Arab Spring unrest of 2011, before appearing on the international art market. Experts believe the artefact, a stone head tha…
Experts believe the stone head, which was originally part of a block statue, originated in Luxor, in southern Egypt. It depicts an official from the reign of Pharaoh Thutmose III (1479-1425 BC).
It disappeared sometime around 2011-2012. It's now back.
The News
Pakistan Live NewsNetherlands repatriates 3500-year-old Egyptian sculpture looted during Arab Spring
The Netherlands has returned a 3500-year-old looted ancient sculpture to Egypt on Thursday in a historic cultural repatriation move. According to artefact experts, the sculpture consists of a stone...
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