13-05-2025
Pics: Egypt recovers 25 rare smuggled artifacts from the US
Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigration Badr Abdelatty participated in the procedures of receiving rare artifacts after they had been smuggled to the US- press photo
CAIRO – 13 May 2025: Egypt has received smuggled 25 rare artifacts from various eras of ancient Egyptian civilization, said the Egyptian Foreign Ministry in a statement on Monday evening.
Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigration Badr Abdelatty participated in the procedures of the Antiquities Receipt Committee formed by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Tourism and Antiquities to recover the artifacts.
This comes in line with the directives of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration to work continuously to recover Egyptian antiquities smuggled abroad. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Egyptian Consulate General in New York, succeeded in shipping a collection of the largest illegally smuggled artifacts out of Egypt.
These artifacts, comprised of 25 rare artifacts from various eras of ancient Egyptian civilization and distinguished by their great historical and artistic value, were shipped out.
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The recovered collection includes stone and wooden coffin lids, funerary masks made of pottery and gilded wood, a large alabaster vase, and a portrait of a woman from the Fayum period, reflecting the mastery of realistic portraiture during the Greco-Roman era. The collection also includes various pieces of jewelry made of various metals, a rare gold coin dating back to the reign of Ptolemy I, and small bronze and stone statues depicting aspects of Egyptian belief and art from various historical periods.
Minister Abdelatty emphasized the importance Egypt attaches to the issue of retrieving smuggled Egyptian antiquities and returning them to the homeland. He praised the tireless efforts of Egyptian embassies and consulates abroad, in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the Egyptian Public Prosecutor's Office, and relevant state agencies, to recover Egyptian antiquities and preserve the country's wealth.
