Exclusive: Christie’s Sells Tutankhamen`s Bust (Video)

The bust of the Tutankhamen was sold for £4.7 million at the Christie’s auction house in London, CNN reported Thursday.

CNN said that the Christie’s auction house refused to reveal the identity of the buyer.

The sale of the artifact sparked controversy after the Egyptian authorities demanded that Britain cancel the auction and recover the Antiquate to Egyptian authorities.

https://youtu.be/G1qopDAbhGI

But the British authorities refused Egypt’s request to return the bust of Tutankhamun.

The British authorities said the bust was illegally smuggled in the 1960’s and no one asked for its restoration.

Christies confirmed that the bust was obtained from a Munich-based dealer named Heinz-Herzer in 1985.

On the other side, Egyptian Antiquities Ministry appealed to Christie’s and UNESCO to stop the sale and asked to see the documents proving the source of the piece, according to a statement issued by the ministry in June.

Egyptian Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, has said the bust was likely stolen from an Egyptian temple in the 1970s.

Noteworthy, Egypt’s iconic Archaeologist Dr.Zahi Hawass tried hard to stop the sale by talking with international agencies but the move was not fruitful.

Contributed by Ahmad El-Assasy