The Netherlands has returned a 3,500-year-old Egyptian sculpture to Cairo after Dutch authorities concluded the antiquity had been looted, resurfacing at an art fair in Maastricht in 2022 before being seized.
A joint investigation by Dutch police and the cultural heritage inspectorate determined in 2025 that the stone head, originally part of a block statue, had been plundered and unlawfully removed from Egypt, most likely amid the unrest of the 2011 Arab Spring, before entering the international art market.
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Experts believe the sculpture originated in Luxor, in southern Egypt, and depicts a senior official from the reign of Pharaoh Thutmose III (1479–1425 B.C.). The piece was confiscated in 2022 at an art fair in Maastricht after it reappeared for sale.
Art dealer Sycomore Ancient Art, which had acquired the head but harbored doubts about its provenance, voluntarily surrendered the object following the Dutch inquiry. Authorities said the decision aided the investigation and cleared the way for repatriation to Egypt.
Egyptian Ambassador Emad Hanna said the country monitors artefacts that surface in exhibitions and auctions as part of its effort to protect cultural patrimony and recover items removed without authorization.
“It means a lot to us when it comes to tourism and economy, because at the end of the day, when tourists come to Egypt to see these things, it definitely makes a difference,” Hanna said.
Egypt did not immediately specify when or where the sculpture will go on public display. The return nonetheless marks a win for Cairo’s ongoing campaign to track and reclaim antiquities that left the country illicitly, often during periods of political instability when archaeological sites and museum stores can be vulnerable to theft.
The case underscores renewed cooperation between European authorities and source countries to curb the illicit trade in antiquities. Investigations of suspicious provenance, tighter scrutiny at art fairs and auction houses, and voluntary surrenders by dealers who encounter red flags have become central tools for governments seeking to repatriate cultural heritage.
While experts continue to study the piece’s stylistic and historical features, its likely origin in Luxor and its connection to the court of Thutmose III place it within a formative era of ancient Egyptian statecraft and art. Block statues, to which this head is thought to have belonged, commemorated elite officials and were often installed in temples, reinforcing both political authority and religious devotion.
The Dutch confirmation that the head was unlawfully removed from Egypt, and the subsequent handover, add to a growing body of cases that highlight the importance of rigorous due diligence in the antiquities market. For Egypt, each return strengthens museum collections at home and, officials argue, the tourism economy that relies on presenting authentic, well-documented heritage to the public.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
