**Netherlands to Return 3,500-Year-Old Sculpture to Egypt Following Grand Egyptian Museum Opening**
Cairo – The Prime Minister of the Netherlands announced on Sunday that the European nation will soon return a 3,500-year-old sculpture to Egypt. This announcement came just a day after he attended the lavish opening ceremony of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza.
Prime Minister Dick Schoof stated that during a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, he informed his counterpart about the upcoming return of a bust belonging to a high-ranking official from the dynasty of Pharaoh Thutmose III.
The piece was discovered for sale at an art fair in 2022 and was subsequently confiscated after Dutch authorities received an anonymous tip regarding its illegal origin. According to a statement from the Dutch government, the art dealer “voluntarily renounced the sculpture.” After investigation, Dutch police and officials confirmed that the bust was obtained through looting and unlawfully exported.
The sculpture is expected to be handed over to the Egyptian ambassador to the Netherlands by the end of this year. This will mark the first artifact returned to Egypt since the grand opening of the GEM.
Several campaigns have sought the repatriation of looted Egyptian antiquities ahead of the museum’s opening. Egypt’s government hosted dozens of foreign leaders and dignitaries on Saturday for the official launch of the new museum—a $1 billion project decades in the making.
Nevine El-Aref, media adviser to the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, told CBS News on Saturday, “It is a great day for Egypt and for humanity. This is Egypt’s gift to the world. It’s a dream come true. After all these years, the GEM is finally and officially open.”
The Grand Egyptian Museum is one of the largest museums in the world and the largest dedicated to a single civilization: ancient Egypt. Its exhibits span some 7,000 years, from prehistory to the end of the Greek and Roman eras around 400 A.D.
Egyptian officials hope the new museum will significantly boost the country’s tourism industry and stimulate the still-struggling economy. They predict the GEM will attract approximately 5 million visitors annually.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/egypt-netherlands-to-return-3500-year-old-sculpture-gem-museum-opening/