Netherlands to Return Stolen Ancient Egyptian Sculpture to Egypt After Grand Museum Opening
In a move that marks a significant step towards repatriating cultural heritage, the Dutch government announced Sunday that it will return a 3,500-year-old bust of a high-ranking official from Pharaoh Thutmose III's dynasty to Egypt by the end of this year.
The bust was discovered in 2022 at an art fair and confiscated by Dutch authorities following an anonymous tip about its illicit origin. An investigation revealed that the sculpture had been obtained through looting and unlawful export, prompting the Netherlands to take action.
Prime Minister Dick Schoof made the announcement during a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday, just a day after attending the opening ceremony of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza. The museum, which cost over $1 billion to build, is expected to attract millions of visitors annually and boost Egypt's struggling economy.
The return of the bust marks the first time an artifact has been repatriated to Egypt since the museum's grand opening event. Campaigns by various organizations have been pushing for the return of looted Egyptian antiquities in recent years.
Egyptian officials hailed the move as a major victory, with media adviser Nevine El-Aref describing it as "a great day for Egypt and for humanity" and a "dream come true." The Grand Egyptian Museum is one of the largest museums in the world, dedicated to ancient Egyptian culture spanning 7,000 years.
The expected return of the bust is seen as a significant step towards redressing historical injustices and promoting cultural cooperation between nations. As Egypt looks to revitalize its economy through tourism, the museum's grand opening event has brought international attention and hopes that it will be a major success story for the country.
In a move that marks a significant step towards repatriating cultural heritage, the Dutch government announced Sunday that it will return a 3,500-year-old bust of a high-ranking official from Pharaoh Thutmose III's dynasty to Egypt by the end of this year.
The bust was discovered in 2022 at an art fair and confiscated by Dutch authorities following an anonymous tip about its illicit origin. An investigation revealed that the sculpture had been obtained through looting and unlawful export, prompting the Netherlands to take action.
Prime Minister Dick Schoof made the announcement during a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday, just a day after attending the opening ceremony of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza. The museum, which cost over $1 billion to build, is expected to attract millions of visitors annually and boost Egypt's struggling economy.
The return of the bust marks the first time an artifact has been repatriated to Egypt since the museum's grand opening event. Campaigns by various organizations have been pushing for the return of looted Egyptian antiquities in recent years.
Egyptian officials hailed the move as a major victory, with media adviser Nevine El-Aref describing it as "a great day for Egypt and for humanity" and a "dream come true." The Grand Egyptian Museum is one of the largest museums in the world, dedicated to ancient Egyptian culture spanning 7,000 years.
The expected return of the bust is seen as a significant step towards redressing historical injustices and promoting cultural cooperation between nations. As Egypt looks to revitalize its economy through tourism, the museum's grand opening event has brought international attention and hopes that it will be a major success story for the country.
I think this is such an amazing move by the Netherlands! It's like they're finally listening to their critics and doing something positive about the whole looted antiquities thing 
. I mean, 3,500 years old is like, ancient history 
. The Grand Egyptian Museum is already a big deal, but now it feels like it's not just about tourism and making money for Egypt, but also about giving back to their culture 
. It's all about finding that middle ground between preserving our heritage and respecting each other's cultures 
. Plus, it's always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to cultural artifacts 
. I'm just glad this bust is going back home where it belongs 
.
so like, holland is returning this ancient egyptian sculpture to egypt after they found out it was stolen lol what a move! i mean, who needs all that money when u can bring back some history? 
and can we talk about how amazing the grand egyptian museum sounds?! $1 billion is wild but if it's gonna boost egypt's economy and attract millions of visitors, im down for it 
. campaigns by orgs have been pushing for this kinda repatriation for years so props to them too 
! finally some justice for ancient egyptian art 
. i'm sure that statue was meant to be displayed in cairo or some other egyptian museum, not in some art gallery in amsterdam 
. anyhoo, this is just the beginning of many more repatriations, and i'm all for it 
. let's celebrate our shared human history and cultures! 
. The Grand Egyptian Museum is going to be amazing btw! $1 billion for a museum is wild 
And now they're giving back this ancient sculpture that didn't belong to them in the first place. It's all good vibes for Egypt, you know? The government's taking responsibility and trying to make things right. I'm not saying it's too little, too late or anything, but at least they're acknowledging the past mistakes and trying to fix them. I just hope this sets a precedent for other countries to follow suit... that would be awesome! 
i mean, 1 billion bucks to build? what a waste of cash, right? but hey, at least they're trying to make up for lost time by returning some ancient artifacts. it's about bloody time too, been holding onto that bust for way too long. i'm sure the egyptians are stoked to get their cultural heritage back 
and now they can focus on boosting their economy through tourism. but you've gotta wonder, who's gonna be the one running around in front of all those tourists, showing them the ropes?
like how did it even end up there tho? wasnt it stolen from somewhere? and now its gonna be part of the grand museum in giza which sounds super cool btw is that museum open yet? and whats the deal with museums being a thing for countries to show off their cultural heritage 
, it's crazy how some people can just swoop in and steal these things. I mean, what's the point of having a grand museum if we're just gonna keep taking our friends' stuff back? 
... I mean, who gets excited about just one old statue? 
And what's the point of sending it back if they're gonna put it in some museum where people will just stare at it for a few hours and then leave? 
Don't get me wrong, repatriating cultural stuff is cool and all, but let's not get too carried away here 
