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Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Ushabti figurine to be recovered from London - Ancient Egypt - Heritage - Ahram Online


http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/0/257163/Heritage/0/Ushabti-figurine-to-be-recovered-from-London.aspx

Ushabti figurine to be recovered from London

A wooden Ushabti figurine stolen from an Aswan storehouse to be returned from London

Nevine El-Aref , Monday 30 Jan 2017

The recovered ushabti figurine

The Egyptian embassy in London received a wooden Ushabti figurine that was stolen in 2013 from an Aswan storehouse and illegally smuggled out of the country.

The figurine is to be returned to Egypt soon.

Shaaban Abdel Gawad, the head of the antiquities repatriation department at the Ministry of Antiquities, told Ahram Online that the Ushabti was uncovered in 2009 by a Spanish archaeological mission in Qubet Al Hawa necropolis in Aswan and was stored among other artefacts in the storehouses.

In 2013, following the departure of the mission, the Aswan storehouse was subjected to looting and the Ushabti figurine was stolen, along with other artefacts.

The statuette is 16.5 cm tall and carved in wood with golden decorative elements.

In 2016, Abdel Gawad explained, a curator at the British Museum in London noticed the figurine with a British citizen and reported the incident to the antiquities ministry.

After diplomatic negotiations, the Ushabti was recovered and handed to the Egyptian embassy in London.

The recovered ushabti figurine

 


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