Dutch authorities return 3,500-year-old looted sculpture to Egypt
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.
Experts believe…