Friday March 29th, 2024
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Swiss Authorities Retrieve and Return 26 Ancient Egyptian Treasures

All the treasures found date back to between the 3rd millennia B.C. and the 4th Century B.C.

Staff Writer

Twenty-six Ancient Egyptian artifacts were returned to Egypt this week, after being seized by Swiss authorities, according to swissinfo.ch. Having been confiscated in two criminal cases, the pieces were returned under the obligations of a 1970 UNESCO convention. The artefacts were given to the Egyptian ambassador, Hisham Seif el-Din.

The collection includes a small bust of the god Anubis, 12  uchabti (funerary figurines) and several amulets featuring for the Eye of Horus (an Ancient Egyptian symbol of protection, regality, and health) and a djed, an ancient Egyptian symbol representing stability. All the treasures found date back to between the 3rd millennia B.C. and the 4th Century B.C.

The statues were attained through the efforts of the Egyptian Embassy in Switzerland, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the General Department of Monuments of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities’ cultural sector in a joint-effort with the Swiss Federal Office of Cultural Affairs, the Swiss Federal Police and the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Both Egypt and Switzerland are parties of the 1970 UNESCO Convention that commits all parties to put a stop to the illegal importing and exporting of cultural property. The restitution states Switzerland’s commitment in combating unlawful trade of cultural property such as the artifacts found, according to the Federal Office of Culture. Both countries signed an additional bilateral agreement on returning such properties in 2011.

Main Image: Federal Office of Culture