Updated 20:51 IST, September 26th 2019
New York Museum returns 2,000 year old stolen Egyptian coffin
The US authorities gave back a 2,000-year-old stolen Egyptian coffin. It was returned back to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City after two years.
On September 26, According to reports, the US authorities gave back a stolen Egyptian coffin. It was returned back to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City after two years. The museum has displayed the coffin of a priest named Nedjemankh in an exhibition held in one of the sections of the museum which consists of relics from Egypt. According to the officials, the coffin was stolen and later sold to the museum by an Art trafficking network which operates across the globe. The network used fake documents to sell the coffin.
The coffin was smuggled from Egypt
It is believed that the coffin was initially kept in Egypt and later looted and smuggled from Egypt in the year 2011. The Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance in his interview told the news agency that the investigation has revealed that by far the coffin is just of the many relics stolen by the art trafficking network. He said that there could be more items smuggled from Egypt during a repatriation ceremony held in New York on September 25.
Museum given fake documents
According to the reports the coffin belongs to the 1st Century BC. One of the prestigious museums bought the gold coffin for $4 million from a Parisian art dealer. The coffin was first smuggled to Germany and was restored on its way to France. The prosecutors revealed to the international media that the museum was handled over forged documents which included a 1971 Egyptian export license along with other fake documents.
The coffin is a symbol of human heritage
Before the mesmerizing Egyptian coffin was stolen in 2011, it was discovered from the country’s Minya region where it was buried for the past 2,000 years. The Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Hassan Shoukry told foreign news agency that the coffin is symbolic of not just the Egyptian culture but is a symbol of common human heritage”. This should be properly preserved. The coffin will be put on public display in Egypt in 2020 exhibition where people can view the grand and ornate coffin.
Published 17:40 IST, September 26th 2019