Egyptian Ministry announces recovery of antiquities smuggled to Australia

Egypt’s Antiquities Ministry has recovered 21 artefacts smuggled illegally to Australia, including a funerary figurine, an eye of Horus amulet, and a wooden sarcophagus fragment, Arab News reported.

Most items were displayed at a prominent Australian auction house without proper ownership documentation. The collection was handed over to the Egyptian embassy in Canberra. Officials have not disclosed how or when the artefacts were taken from Egypt. Smuggling of antiquities surged during the 2011 uprising, when looters stole thousands of priceless items from museums and archaeological sites.

Over the past decade, Egypt has successfully reclaimed around 30,000 smuggled artefacts. In a related case, six years ago, the Egyptian embassy in Australia received the final piece of a fourth-century BC stone stela, stolen from Luxor in 1995 and previously smuggled to Switzerland. The complete stela and the newly repatriated artefacts are now undergoing restoration at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir ahead of a temporary exhibition.