Egypt's stolen antiquities continue to be repatriated. Nevine El-Aref reports on the return of a 30th dynasty granite relief from Christie's New York auction house There was considerable relief when the United States, early this week, gave Egypt back a genuine granite relief that was smuggled out of the country in the 1990s. Mahmoud Allam, Egypt's council general in New York, officially received the 38.3-centimetre-tall relief, which had been chipped off a larger scene engraved on an inner wall of the Behbeit Al-Hegara Temple in the Delta governorate of Gharbiya. Martin Ficke, a special agent with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement arm of the US's Department of Homeland Security, called the artefact's return "a great event". French Egyptologist Christine Favard Meeks originally spotted the historic piece in a Christie's auction catalogue two years ago. Meeks -- who recognised it after having extensively documented every nook and cranny of the monument as part of her doctoral thesis -- immediately notified Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), which, in turn, alerted the auctioneers. Although Christie's has consistently declined to reveal the source of the piece, the auction house immediately agreed to withdraw it from the sales catalogue, after which US authorities confiscated it, and steps were taken to return it to Egypt. Christie's spokeswoman Bendetta Roux said the auction house was happy to have collaborated in facilitating the relief's return to its homeland. Allam was also grateful for the international cooperation that had taken place in an effort to preserve the cultural heritage of nations. "We are taking this back to Egypt where it belongs, and reinstalling it in the temple," Allam said. He said that even though the piece -- which features a deity's face, facing left, with a dimpled chin, full cheek, and cosmetic stripes outlining the eyes -- may not seem like much in and of itself, it was an extremely valuable part of an ancient temple. In fact, there are several pieces missing from the temple, which was built by the 30th dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Nectanebo II, who ruled from 360-341 BC, and is considered the "last" pharaoh. The lacklustre security in the area near the temple has resulted in at least 10 other pieces going missing over the past 15 years. Three of them were sold at auction halls in New York and London, and their current whereabouts are unknown. A fourth, featuring the Nile-god Hapi, was identified by SCA Secretary General Zahi Hawass as being on display at the Virginia Fine Arts Museum. Hawass also said he knew the whereabouts of most of the other missing pieces, but declined to reveal their location at present. "I demanded the return of this piece from Virginia," Hawass said. "According to SCA documentation, it was stolen; it is not from a private collection. Should the museum refuse, I will notify Interpol and the Egyptian Embassy in Washington, and file legal action in the US." He said Egypt would also eventually demand that the other pieces be returned as well. The recent wave of repatriated antiquities is also the result of a warning that Egypt would sever relations with foreign museums that knowingly display stolen antiquities. "The SCA department responsible for tracing stolen and smuggled artefacts is investigating all cases of theft in order to retrieve objects smuggled out of Egypt," Hawass said. He said "efforts would be made to retrieve" objects from Seti I's tomb that are on display at museums in Bologna and Torino in Italy, as well as the Louvre in France. Italy, meanwhile, has already agreed to return seven ushabeti statues (small wooden figures depicting the deceased), as well as an additional 35 objects currently being exhibited in a museum in the Italian provincial city of Komo.
