Egyptian authorities suspending relationship with Louvre Museum
The Department of Egyptian Antiquities at the revered Louvre Museum in Paris is one of the world’s largest repositories of antiquities from Egypt. It presents stunning examples from the civilizations that developed in the Nile Valley from the late prehistoric era (c. 4000 BC) to the Christian period (4th century AD), including a collection of ancient Coptic textiles that must be kept away from natural light due to their great fragility and age. Most of these treasures were taken during the time of the French and British colonial occupation of the country. Many of these wonderful items can be viewed on line via a virtual tour at the Louvre’s English language website http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp
The director of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt, Zahi Hawass, wrote to major museums around the world 7 years ago asking them to consult with Egyptian authorities before buying any additional Egyptian antiquities from outside sellers. This was an effort on his part to halt the international market in stolen Egyptian antiquities.
Mr Hawass claims that the Louvre had since knowingly bought five stolen stelae that were obtained by being chipped off the walls from a princely tomb in Thebes, which had been reported stolen by antiquities robbers back in the 1980s, and for which Egyptian authorities had been on the lookout ever since. They could have informed the Louvre authorities that they were dealing with black marketeers but the Louvre chose not to heed their request.
As a result, Mr Hawass then wrote to the Louvre requesting that the murals be returned to Egypt, which it apparently agreed to do. However that promise was not honoured, after all, and now Mr Hawass has announced to the world media that he is suspending any further cooperation with the museum until this issue has been resolved. In addition, the former director in charge of the purchase, Christiane Ziegler, will be forbidden from giving a scheduled lecture in Egypt. No one at the Louvre was willing to comment on this issue.
The position Egypt takes on the controversial area of ‘who owns what?’ after centuries of discovery and pillaging by European explorers, as explained by Mr Hawass, is that “artifacts taken by the Europeans during that earlier period are a fait accompli, but anything taken illegally since Egypt’s independence from the United Kingdom in 1922 must be returned.” He is still on a mission to return the bust of Queen Nefertiti now in Berlin, and the Rosetta Stone from the British Museum in London.
Many museums in England and Belgium have readily returned numerous artifacts to Egypt after relationships were suspended by the Egyptian authorities, as is being done now with France. Those with an understanding of Egypt’s stand on this issue will hope that this case with the Louvre Museum has a successful outcome.
Stop press: News just received says that Francois Mitterand, France’s Culture Minister, favoured the return of the pieces, so I am pleased to report that the Egyptians have had a successful resolution of this matter.