CAIRO: The tension between the Egyptian Supreme Council for Antiquities and Germany continued last week after the German State Secretary for Cultural Affairs Bernd Neumann confirmed Germany's refusal to respond to Egypt's demands for the restoration of the bust of the ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti. Egypt had been demanding the return of the statue as part of SCA Secretary-General Zahi Hawass's efforts to have all Egyptian artifacts returned home, including the Nefertiti statue and the Rosetta Stone in London. Neumann said, in a statement in Berlin, that the bust of Nefertiti will remain in Berlin, adding that the statue is displayed in the new museum in the island of museums in Berlin, and “was obtained legally in 1913 under the division of the monuments discovered through the German Association of the East and then by the Prussian state, and this is recorded in the documents.” Hawass has repeatedly called on Germany to deliver the statue of the Queen, which dates to more than 3000 years to Egypt. He has led the campaign to return what he calls stolen artifacts to Egypt. Last fall, Hawass secured the return of artifacts from the Louvre after threatening to cut off the French museum's access to Egyptian digs. This led to an international outcry by archaeologists, who have repeatedly said that Egypt is pressuring “too much” for the return of ancient pieces without the “proper means of displaying the artifacts.” However, SCA officials have repeatedly told Bikya Masr that “we have been able to show the Tut artifacts with great care and access, so it would be no different for these vital and important historical pieces.” Hawass announced last Thursday that Egypt will submit a formal request “soon” for the restoration of Nefertiti. Sources from Neumann's office said that the procedures for the division of relics unearthed in 1913 was “clarified and proven more than once by the German, Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation,” pointing out that it was agreed then that the relics unearthed are divided into two parts, “then the Egyptian Antiquities Organization, a representative of the Egyptian government chose part of them and then after the Egyptian side chose its own part, the colored bust of Nefertiti was taken by the German side as a part of its share.” The rejection made by the German State Secretary for Cultural Affairs to Egypt's demand for the return of the Nefertiti bust came several days after Hawass's statement. The German Ambassador in Cairo Michael Bock said his country received a statue of Nefertiti's head from Egypt within the legal framework. Bock, explained in comments to reporters on Wednesday, that “the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass received recently a number of files that were not known to the Egyptian side.” He added that the “documents delivered to Hawass prove that the statue of Nefertiti' has been transferred in a legal framework.” Bock declined to give further explanations, saying “I leave the field for professionals.” He emphasized the importance of maintaining the statue in good condition. BM
