Egypt's Antiquities Ministry has put the golden coffin of pharaonic priest Nedjemankh on display at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat after its recovery from the US.
Nedjemankh gold coffin was stolen in 2011 by antiquities traffickers and sold to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2017 for about $4 million using fake import papers.
This impressive display was attended by Antiquities Minister Khaled Al Anani, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Moustafa Waziri, in addition to a number of foreign ambassadors, and archaeological missions’ officials.
Anani said that the coffin restoration came within Egyptian state sincere efforts to recover the smuggled Egyptian antiquities abroad, as well as the key role played by the ministries of Antiquities and Foreign Affairs in cooperation with Egyptian Attorney General's Office.
Moreover, he stressed that Egypt attaches great importance to the preservation of its heritage and civilized history.
The Egyptian diplomatic efforts succeeded in recovering the priest’s golden coffin to Egypt again; a joint investigation by American, Egyptian, German and French law enforcement officials determined the coffin crafted between 150 and 50 BCE was stolen from Egypt’s Minya region.
The coffin is 181 cm (72.25 in) long, 53 cm (20.875 in) wide, and 28 cm (11 in) deep. It is skillfully made of a combination of cartonnage, wood, metal, silver, gold and glass. Its surface is elaborately decorated with scenes and hieroglyphic texts meant to guide the priest on his journey to eternal life.
Noteworthy, Egypt is exerting great efforts to recover its stolen and smuggled antiquities. The coffin of Nedjemankh is a gilded ancient Egyptian coffin from the late Ptolemaic period.
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