14.04.2011, 11:49 5122

Stolen Tutankhamun statue recovered in Egypt

Stolen artifacts, including statue of Tutankhamun, have been recovered in Egypt, Kazakhstan Today reports.

Almaty. April 14. Kazakhstan Today - Stolen artifacts, including statue of Tutankhamun, have been recovered in Egypt, Kazakhstan Today reports.

Roughly one thousand pieces went missing from the Cairo Museum in Egypt, but this weekend, Minister of State for Antiquities Dr. Zahi Hawass announced that some of those artifacts had been recovered from a bag in an Egyptian metro station, Ahramonline reported.

Amongst the returned objects was the gilded wooden statue of the boy-king Tutankhamun, standing in a boat throwing a harpoon. The statue had suffered slight damage with a small part of the crown missing in addition to pieces of the legs. The boat remains in the museum, while the figure of the king is undergoing restoration.

The second object is one of the 10 missing ushabtis of Yuya and Thuya. "It is still in a very good condition," Tarek El-Awady, director of the Egyptian Museum, told Ahram Online. He went on to say that the ushabti figurine does not require restoration and will be placed immediately back on display.

Another of the returned objects is a gilded bronze and wooden trumpet of Tutankhamun (JE 62008). It was received in excellent condition and will similarly be put on display straight away.

The last of the returned pieces was a part of Tutankhamun's fan. One face is in good condition while the other has been broken into 11 pieces. However, part of the royal fan remains missing.

Salah Abdel Salam, a public relation personal at the MSAA, came upon these objects during his daily trip to work on the Metro. He related that he accidently found an unidentified black bag placed on a chair in the Shubra Metro station. Doubtful that the bag was concealing an explosive, Salah opened it and found the Tutankhamun statue gazing up at him. He took the bag and handed it over to the MSAA.

Hawass told reporters that he is calling on all Egyptians to return any objects that they have found. He emphasised that the MSAA will not file any law suit against them but instead will compensate them.

He also stated that now, following the return of these objects, the number of missing pieces from the museum has reached 33 objects out of 54.

Following restoration, an exhibition of the reinstated objects will be put on display at the Egyptian Museum, in an attempt to celebrate the World Heritage Day on 18 April.

Photo: lezgetreal.com

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