Netherlands to return 3,500-year-old stolen sculpture to Egypt
Dutch PM Dick Schoof told President al-Sisi that the Netherlands will return a 3,500-year-old stone head from the era of Pharaoh Thutmose III, stolen during the 2011 unrest and recovered at a 2022 art fair.
- World
- Anadolu Agency
- Published Date: 09:02 | 03 November 2025
The Netherlands will return a 3,500-year-old stone head sculpture to Egypt, Prime Minister Dick Schoof told President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday.
The artefact, from 1479-1425 BC, depicts a high-ranking official from the reign of Pharaoh Thutmose III, according to Dutch public broadcaster NOS.
It is believed to have been stolen and exported from Egypt most likely during the unrest of the 2011 Arab Spring.
The sculpture resurfaced in 2022 at the Tefaf art fair in Maastricht, where the dealer gave up ownership upon learning it had been stolen.
It will be handed over to Egypt's ambassador to the Netherlands by the end of the year, though it remains unclear where Egypt intends to display it.
- UN satellite assessment finds 81% of Gaza Strip structures damaged
- Merz says Syrian refugees in Germany must go home
- Tesla sued over fiery Wisconsin crash that killed all occupants of Model S
- Lebanon has no choice but to negotiate with Israel: President Aoun
- Türkiye sends off largest homegrown, private sector satellite into space