Holland Will Return A Looted 3,500-Year-Old Stone Bust Following Lavish Egyptian Museum Opening

Holland Will Return A Looted 3,500-Year-Old Stone Bust Following Lavish Egyptian Museum Opening

Having identified a 3,500-year-old bust of a pharaoh among the nation’s antiquity dealers, The Netherlands are turning it over to the Egyptian authorities in a “good faith gesture.”

It’s believed to have been stolen during the Arab Spring of 2011-12, when intense protests brought the end of Hosni Mubarak’s Presidency and the start of several years of turmoil in the land of the Nile.

Its return coincides with the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, the largest archaeological museum in the world focused on a single civilization, spanning 120 acres, and housing some 100,000 artifacts.

This bust, believed because of the craftsmanship to date to around 1,450 BCE, depicts the pharaoh Thutmose III, a contender for consideration as the most powerful ruler in all Egypt’s history. Son of the not-too-inglorious Thutmose II, whose tomb was discovered in May of this year by archaeologists, Thutmose III expanded the New Kingdom’s territory and influence to their zenith.

Measuring 7.5 inches tall, the artifact is made from rock granodiorite, according to the New York Times. It was found via an anonymous tip at TEFAF, a fair for visual arts, antiques, and design, in the city of Maastricht in 2022. The seller who was trying to offload the bust willingly relinquished it after being informed of its provenance.

ALSO CHECK OUT: Netherlands to Return its Share of Nigeria’s Looted Treasures: 120 Statues Set for Repatriation

The Netherlands Information and Heritage Inspectorate stated that Dutch Prime Minister Hendrikus Schoof gave first notice of the seizure during a conversation with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on November 2nd, and the agency said it would be returned to Egypt by the end of the year.

Seeking for a generation to build a showroom for the cream of this archaeological crop, the Egyptian government hopes the Grand Egyptian Museum, where this bust may come to be housed, fully-demonstrates the state’s commitment to protecting its heritage for all time.

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS: 3,400-Year-old Head of King Ramses II Statue Returned to Egypt After Theft

“We’ve all dreamed of this project and whether it would really come true,” Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said during a press conference at the opening on November 9th, per Reuters.