Egypt Demands Return of Famous Artwork
Kimmelman, Michael, “When Ancient Artifacts Become Political Pawns,” New York Times, October 23, 2009
Egypt’s chief archaeologist, Zahi Hawass, claims Germany stole a 3,500 year-old bust of Nefertiti almost a century ago and insists it be returned. Germans maintain that Nefertiti was found by Ludwig Borchardt at Tel el Amarna in 1912 and that the Egyptians gave him permission to take it to Berlin.
Furthermore, Hawass demands France return five fresco fragments, which were bought at gallery auctions in 2000 and 2003 and are currently displayed in the Louvre. He also suspended the Louvre’s excavation in Saqqara, Egypt and threatened to stop collaborating with exhibitions at the museum.
Officials from Germany and France did not overlook the fact that Hawass made his accusations directly after Farouk Hosny, Egypt’s culture minister, lost a bid to become director general of Unesco, the United Nation’s cultural agency. Jewish groups campaigned against him due to his racism against Israelis and Jews. For example, when questioned about the presence of Israeli books in Alexandria’s library by Egypt’s Parliament, he replied, “Let’s burn these books. If there are any, I will burn them myself before you.”
But when asked about his timing, Hawass asserted that there was no connection between his case about the pieces of art from Germany and France and Hosny’s lost bid. Unfortunately, the main reason behind Hawass’s claims is extreme nationalism. The artwork turned into “a political football” and resulted in racism and ethnocentrism.
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