Ministry of Antiquities retrieves antique plaque from France

CAIRO – 10 May 2017: The Ministry of Antiquities received from the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters a stone plaque that dates back to the era of "Nakhtenbo II". The plaque has been delivered from France.

Shaaban Abdel Gawad, the supervisor of the Repatriation Department in the ministry, declared that they succeeded in finding this piece by keeping an eye on the websites of the global auction halls. The piece was showcased in an auction hall in Paris and immediate actions to stop the sale were taken.

The plaque is etched with a painting of the goddess Sekhmet carrying the sun disk on top of her head and a frieze of hieroglyphic writing that contains a cartouche of the king Nakhtenbo II, made of limestone with dimensions of about 44x50 cm and that weighs about 80kg. The piece was stolen in the 1990s from one of the temples in Saqqara, Abdel Gawad stated.

The ministry also received 44 small and medium-sized antique pieces that were seized at Charles De Gaulle airport in France and that now have been restored. The retrieved items are mainly ornaments made of beads, ivory and bones and some jewelry dating back to different ages of ancient Egyptian civilization including mostly the Coptic era, Abdel Gawad added.


Ministry of Antiquities recovers ancient tablet


Ministry of Antiquities recovers ancient tablet