BIA

JUIN 2015
display at the Museum’s official inauguration in
2016. The batch includes ten artefacts carefully
selected from the store galleries of the
Saqqâra necropolis which show limestone reliefs
engraved with scenes depicting the daily and
religious life of ancient Egyptians as well as an
18 th dynasty army leader before becoming a
king.
Minister of Antiquities Mamdûh al-Damâtî
and the NMEC director general Khâlid al-‘Inânî
received the objects, with the former describing
the batch as "a milestone towards the NMEC
official inauguration." al-‘Inânî told Ahram
Online that the objects will be conserved and
would remain in the NMEC galleries until its
opening. (Nevine El-Aref, “The NMEC receives its
first batch of artefacts”, Ahram Online, June
13, 2015. Voir également Ahmad Mansûr,
« Inauguration partielle des magasins du musée
de la Civilisation pour accueillir des pièces en
provenance de Saqqâra », al-Yawm al-Sâbi‘, 11
juin).
- -
Dimanche 14 juin 2015
The upper part of the statue
Following diplomatic negotiations, Egypt has
succeeded to stop the sale of a unique ancient
Egyptian statue at auction hall in Germany.
Minister of Antiquities Mamdûh al-Damâtî
announced that legal procedures and
investigations are now taking place in Germany
in order to return the statue to its homeland.
al-Damâtî told Ahram Online that the statue
was discovered in 2008 in Aswân by a Swiss
archaeological mission and was stored since in
the Elephantine archaeological galleries. In
2013, the Elephantine galleries were subject to
looting and the statue was stolen among other
objects.
At the time, the Ministry of Antiquities
created a list of the stolen objects and put it
on the red list of Interpol, in order to
guarantee its return if it appeared in any
auction hall or on the antiquities trading
market.
Ahmad ‘Alî, head of the repatriation of
stolen antiquities section, said that the statue
is carved in ivory and depicts a figure holding
a gazelle on its shoulders. (Nevine El-Aref,
“Unique stolen ancient Egyptian statue to
return from Germany soon”, Ahram Online,
June 14, 2015. Voir également “Antiquities
Ministry stops the sale of archaeological statue
in Germany”, Egypt Independent, June 14 ; Fâdî
Francis, « Suspension de la vente en Allemagne
d’une statue égyptienne exceptionnelle », al-
Masrî al-Yawm, 15 juin ; Muhammad ‘Abd al-
Mu‘tî, « Le ministère de l’Archéologie parvient à
suspendre la vente d’une statue en
Allemagne », al-Ahrâm, 15 juin).
- -
Lundi 15 juin 2015
The Nagâ Hammâdî police station retrieved
on Monday some items that were robbed six
months ago from the Prince Yûsuf Kamâl
Palace located in Qinâ. One of the suspects
who was arrested possessed three daggers
studded with jewels and silver, as well as
several potteries, two statues and rare
currencies. The suspect is being questioned in
order to find the other suspects and retrieve
the rest of the items. “Items from Prince Yûsuf
Kamâl Palace in Qinâ retrieved”, Egypt
Independent, June 15, 2015. Voir également
Usâma al-Hawwârî, « Après six mois de
filature : récupération d’une partie des
collections du palais Yûsuf Kamâl », al-Ahrâm,
16 juin).
- -
Mercredi 17 juin 2015
Antiquities Minister Mamdûh al-Damâtî has
settled the controversy that has been taking
place on the land of the disbanded National
Democratic Party’s headquarters, after its
destruction. The minister said a cultural project
BIA LI — Janvier/Juin 2015 155