Stolen golden coffin makes return from New York to Cairo

Published October 2, 2019
Cairo: Egypt’s Antiquities Minister Khaled El-Enany (third right) and Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Cairo Thomas Goldberger (second right) look at the Golden Coffin of Nedjemankh, on display at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation following its repatriation from the US. — AFP
Cairo: Egypt’s Antiquities Minister Khaled El-Enany (third right) and Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Cairo Thomas Goldberger (second right) look at the Golden Coffin of Nedjemankh, on display at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation following its repatriation from the US. — AFP

CAIRO: Egypt displayed a gilded ancient coffin from the first century BC on Tuesday, which New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art returned last week after US investigators determined it to be a looted antiquity.

The coffin once held the mummy of Nedjemankh, a priest in the Ptolemaic Period some 2,000 years ago. It was put on display at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation in Cairo.

Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Anany said the repatriation of this “unique, wonderful” artifact shows a “very strong solidarity” between Egypt and the US.

The Met bought it from a Paris art dealer in 2017 for about $4 million and made it the centerpiece of an exhibition. The precious artifact was removed in February after proof of its theft was presented.

Egyptian authorities proved the coffin’s export license was “a false one” following a request from US authorities, el-Anany said in his address. US Charg d’Affaires Thomas Goldberger attended the display ceremony.

“We are delighted that this beautiful artifact is here in this museum in Egypt where it ought to be,” he said.

Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the surface of the coffin was elaborately decorated with scenes and hieroglyphic texts, which were intended guide the priest on his journey from death to the eternal afterlife.

“The name of this coffin’s owner is written here ‘Nedjemankh’ and his title is stated as well ‘priest.’ Most probably this coffin was discovered in middle Egypt,” he said. The exact location would be clarified through further investigations, he added.

The highly ornamented ancient coffin is made of cartonnage and has an elaborately decorated surface sheathed in gold, Waziri said.

The Met has apologized to Egypt. The museum’s head Daniel Weiss said it was a fraud victim and unwitting participant in the illegal trade of antiquities.

US investigators determined that the coffin was smuggled from Egypt through the United Arab Emirates, Germany and France. They say the museum was given fraudulent documents, including a forged 1971 Egyptian export license.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. and Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Hassan Shoukry held a repatriation ceremony in New York on Wednesday.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd , 2019

Opinion

Editorial

Absent justice
Updated 02 Feb, 2025

Absent justice

If the senior-most judges are so helpless, what hope does the common citizen have?
Out of tune
Updated 02 Feb, 2025

Out of tune

Constitutional assurances of freedom to practise faith and protection of life and liberty for all citizens ring hollow for many of Pakistan’s religious minorities.
Vanishing lifeline
02 Feb, 2025

Vanishing lifeline

AS the world marks Wetlands Day, Pakistan’s critical ecosystems find themselves in an unenviable position. The...
Counterterrorism ops
Updated 01 Feb, 2025

Counterterrorism ops

It must also maintain diplomatic pressure on the Afghan Taliban to ensure their soil is not used by anti-Pakistan actors.
Peca protests
Updated 01 Feb, 2025

Peca protests

DESPITE the immense pressures they routinely face, Pakistani journalists have always cherished and jealously...
Additional spectrum
01 Feb, 2025

Additional spectrum

PAKISTAN’S mobile operators need more spectrum, the radio waves that carry voice calls and wireless data, as their...