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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/09/egypt-asks-interpol-to-trace-tutankhamun-relic-auctioned-in-uk
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| Egypt asks Interpol to trace Tutankhamun relic auctioned in UK | Egypt asks Interpol to trace Tutankhamun relic auctioned in UK |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Egypt has asked Interpol to track down a 3,000-year-old Tutankhamun artefact sold in London for £4.7m despite fierce opposition from Cairo, government officials said. | Egypt has asked Interpol to track down a 3,000-year-old Tutankhamun artefact sold in London for £4.7m despite fierce opposition from Cairo, government officials said. |
| Christie’s auction house sold the 28.5cm (11in) relic for £4,746,250 ($5,970,000) to an unknown buyer on 4 July at one of its most controversial auctions in years. | Christie’s auction house sold the 28.5cm (11in) relic for £4,746,250 ($5,970,000) to an unknown buyer on 4 July at one of its most controversial auctions in years. |
| But less than a week after the sale, Egypt’s national committee for antiquities repatriation (NCAR) said after an urgent meeting that national prosecutors had asked the international police agency to issue a circular to trace such artefacts over alleged missing paperwork. | But less than a week after the sale, Egypt’s national committee for antiquities repatriation (NCAR) said after an urgent meeting that national prosecutors had asked the international police agency to issue a circular to trace such artefacts over alleged missing paperwork. |
| “The committee expresses its deep discontent of the unprofessional behaviour of the sale of Egyptian antiquities without providing the ownership documents and the evidences that prove its legal export from Egypt,” the NCAR said in a statement. | “The committee expresses its deep discontent of the unprofessional behaviour of the sale of Egyptian antiquities without providing the ownership documents and the evidences that prove its legal export from Egypt,” the NCAR said in a statement. |
| The committee – headed by the minister of antiquities, Khaled El-Enany, and attended by his predecessor, Zahi Hawass, and officials from various ministries – also called upon Britain to “prohibit the export of the sold artefacts” until the Egyptian authorities were shown the documents. | The committee – headed by the minister of antiquities, Khaled El-Enany, and attended by his predecessor, Zahi Hawass, and officials from various ministries – also called upon Britain to “prohibit the export of the sold artefacts” until the Egyptian authorities were shown the documents. |
| It suggested the issue could have an impact on cultural relations by referencing “the ongoing cooperation between both countries in the field of archaeology, especially that there are 18 British archaeological missions working in Egypt”. | It suggested the issue could have an impact on cultural relations by referencing “the ongoing cooperation between both countries in the field of archaeology, especially that there are 18 British archaeological missions working in Egypt”. |
| The NCAR added it had hired a British law firm to file a civil lawsuit, although no further details were given. | The NCAR added it had hired a British law firm to file a civil lawsuit, although no further details were given. |
| ’Stolen from Karnak’ | ’Stolen from Karnak’ |
| The London sale of the head of “Boy King” Tutankhamun angered Egyptian officials at the time and sparked a protest outside Christie’s by demonstrators who held up signs reading “Stop trading in smuggled antiquities”. | The London sale of the head of “Boy King” Tutankhamun angered Egyptian officials at the time and sparked a protest outside Christie’s by demonstrators who held up signs reading “Stop trading in smuggled antiquities”. |
| Hawass told AFP the piece appeared to have been “stolen” in the 1970s from the Karnak Temple complex north of Luxor and the Egyptian foreign ministry asked the UK Foreign Office and the UN cultural body Unesco to step in and halt the sale. | Hawass told AFP the piece appeared to have been “stolen” in the 1970s from the Karnak Temple complex north of Luxor and the Egyptian foreign ministry asked the UK Foreign Office and the UN cultural body Unesco to step in and halt the sale. |
| But such interventions are rare and made only when there is clear evidence of the item’s legitimate acquisition by the seller being in dispute. | But such interventions are rare and made only when there is clear evidence of the item’s legitimate acquisition by the seller being in dispute. |
| Christie’s argued that Egypt had never before expressed the same level of concern about an item whose existence has been “well known and exhibited publicly” for many years. | Christie’s argued that Egypt had never before expressed the same level of concern about an item whose existence has been “well known and exhibited publicly” for many years. |
| “The object is not, and has not been, the subject of an investigation,” Christie’s said in a statement to AFP. | “The object is not, and has not been, the subject of an investigation,” Christie’s said in a statement to AFP. |
| The auction house has published a chronology of how the relic changed hands between European art dealers over the past 50 years and told AFP it would “not sell any work where there isn’t clear title of ownership”. | The auction house has published a chronology of how the relic changed hands between European art dealers over the past 50 years and told AFP it would “not sell any work where there isn’t clear title of ownership”. |
| Egypt | Egypt |
| Archaeology | Archaeology |
| Africa | Africa |
| Middle East and North Africa | Middle East and North Africa |
| Tutankhamun | |
| news | news |
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