CAIRO: Egypt will regain an ancient limestone painting dating approximately 4200 years old to the era of the Fifth Dynasty (2465-2323 BC) from Switzerland. The painting displays scenes of daily life of the time and views of different fishing activities known in the Old Kingdom (2649-2134 BC). The height of the painting is estimated at 51 cm and was shown in the Basel Museum of Old Antiquities until its return to Egypt. The Ministry of State for Antiquities in Egypt started a campaign to restore a number of antiquities from the country that were stolen and smuggled illegally in the past century. This was in addition to the decision taken by Zahi Hawass, Minister of Antiquities, when he was Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, to sever scientific and archaeological relations with universities, institutes and museums which possess a stolen Egyptian artifact and also to warn the world's museums from purchasing any of these pieces. According to a statement from the ministry, on Wednesday May 11, “an archaeological delegation from the ministry will travel next week to the city of Basel, Switzerland, to retrieve the painting from the Basel Museum of Antiquities, which displayed it, immediately after it was informed that this piece is stolen from Egypt.” Hawas noted that this painting is the second artifact to be recovered from abroad after the revolution. “Another piece was restored from Mexico a few days ago,” he said, adding that there are a number of artifacts that Egypt will retrieve during the next few days. It is noteworthy that Egypt regained an eye of King Amenhotep III (1390-1352 BC) from Switzerland, which was taken from a huge statue inside the mortuary temple of the King in the area of Kom el-Hetan on the Western mainland of Luxor in Upper Egypt. On the other hand, the Faculty of Archaeology at Cairo University witnessed the theft of two pieces of antiquities from the university's museum on Wednesday morning. Attiya Radwan, head of the museum, confirmed the news of robbery, pointing out that he has been communicating with the Dean of the Faculty for more information. Asked about the responsibility of the museums sector to the Antiquities within the college, Radwan denied its responsibility, saying that they are not included on the list, which means that if the pieces are smuggled out of Egypt, they cannot be recovered easily. In the same context, Cairo University issued a statement regarding the theft of antiquities: “The University had been informed of a theft at the Museum of the Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo University, which is on the fourth floor in the main building of the college,” said the statement. The statement noted that the el-Fath for Construction company implements the hammering of the artificial stone on the exterior facades of the building, and the al-Baz for Construction” company implements the internal maintenance of the building, but did not go as far as blaming either company for the theft. The university did say, however, that it had been the exploitation of scaffolding, which was erected until the fourth floor that facilitated the theft. The statement said that from the initial review, it is shown that the theft is limited to a number of possibilities and that is being investigated with the escorts and the security personnel. The General Prosecutor was informed of the theft. BM
