Netherlands to return 3,500-year-old sculpture to Egypt

CAIRO, Egypt (MNTV) — The Netherlands has announced plans to return a 3,500-year-old stone sculpture to Egypt after determining it was stolen and illegally exported during the Arab Spring unrest more than a decade ago.

According to the Dutch Information & Heritage Inspectorate, the artefact — the head of a high-ranking official from the dynasty of Pharaoh Thutmose III — likely disappeared from Egypt in 2011 or 2012 before resurfacing at an art fair in Maastricht in 2022.

Authorities were alerted to its presence following an anonymous tip, prompting an investigation that confirmed the piece had been looted. The dealer later surrendered the sculpture voluntarily after learning of its illicit origin.

Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof made the formal commitment to return the relic while attending the inauguration of Egypt’s Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza over the weekend. Dutch officials said the handover to Egypt’s ambassador in The Hague is expected by the end of the year.

“The Netherlands is committed, both nationally and internationally, to ensuring the return of cultural heritage to its rightful owners,” the government said in a statement, calling the statue “deeply meaningful to Egypt’s identity.”

The development coincides with the long-awaited opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum — a $1.2 billion archaeological complex housing over 100,000 artefacts, including the full collection from Tutankhamun’s tomb.

Egyptologists say the museum’s unveiling strengthens Cairo’s campaign for the repatriation of key antiquities held abroad, including the Rosetta Stone, which remains on display at the British Museum in London.