Netherlands Returns 3,500-Year-Old Looted Egyptian Artifact Without Compensation

Schoof: "President Delighted... Highly Symbolic Gesture"

The Dutch government has decided to return an ancient Egyptian artifact, which was illegally exported during the turmoil of the Arab Spring, to Egypt without compensation.

Ancient Egyptian artifact from 3,500 years ago to be returned by the Netherlands. Photo by Information and Heritage Inspectorate, Netherlands

According to local media such as Dutch News on November 4 (local time), Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof announced after meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Cairo on November 2 that "the ancient Egyptian statue, created 3,500 years ago, will be returned to Egypt."

The artifact being returned is a statue of a high-ranking official from the era of Thutmose III, known as the "Napoleon of Egypt." It disappeared from Egypt during the chaos of the Arab Spring in 2011-2012. After appearing at an exhibition in Maastricht, Netherlands, in 2022, the artifact was confirmed to have been illegally exported, at which point the intermediary relinquished ownership.

Prime Minister Schoof stated, "This is a symbolic, uncompensated return, and President El-Sisi was very pleased." He added, "President El-Sisi repeatedly emphasized the importance of recovering looted cultural assets and combating illegal trade."

The Dutch Ministry of Culture plans to hand over the artifact to the Egyptian ambassador to the Netherlands by the end of the year. It is reported that the returned artifact is likely to be displayed at the recently opened Grand Egyptian Museum.

Located in the Giza region of Egypt, the Grand Egyptian Museum is the world's largest archaeological facility dedicated to a single civilization. It was completed over 20 years and houses more than 100,000 artifacts that span 6,000 years of Egyptian history.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.