Dr. Hussein Bassir, Director of the Antiquities Museum at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, said Thursday that the auctioning of the 32 Egyptian artifacts in London auction hall Christie’s is a clear defiance of international treaties and conventions.
Bassir added that such treaties are respected by most Arab and foreign countries, especially Egypt.
In exclusive statements to Sada El-Balad English website “SEE” Bassir said that the Egyptian Ministries of Antiquities and Foreign Affairs have spared no efforts in halting the sale of Egyptian artifacts.They made persistent legal and diplomatic efforts in accordance with treaties signed between Egypt and the UK.
He pointed out that some auction halls do not respect international laws, stressing that those halls are are after profits.
He called for the immediate intervention of UNESCO to stop the sale of Egypt’s culture and civilization, pointing out that Egypt has not yet lost hope to halt the sale, adding that there are negotiations with Christie’s about recovering the antiquities put up for sale.
Tutankhamun
The archaeologist added that the Egyptian embassy in London is closely following up the developments of this issue.
On the other hand, the London-based auction hall announced in a statement published June 11 that it expects to sell the Tutankhamun bust, a 3,000-year-old stone sculpture, for no less than $5 million. The statement also said that the statue - as well as a wooden Pharaonic tomb and a statue of an old Egyptian cat - were acquired from Heinz Herzer, a Munich-based dealer, in 1985.
In a June 15 press statement, Mostafa Waziri, the General Secretary of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, a government body affiliated with the Ministry of Antiquities, said the bust had been smuggled out of Egypt from the Karnak Temple Complex in Luxor. However, he did not specify when this piece was taken exactly.
In response to Egypt’s request to stop the auction, the British Embassy in Cairo issued a statement June 20, saying, “The United Kingdom recognizes the importance of preserving and protecting Egyptian cultural heritage and has robust legislation and processes in place to protect cultural property.”
Contributed by Hassanain Tayea.
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