“The facial features – the full mouth with slightly drooping lower lips, and almond-shaped, slanted eyes, with a deep depression between the eyes and eyebrows – are those of Tutankhamen,” says a press release by Christie’s.
Next month, a statue of God Amen Tutankhamun’s head is being offered for sale at Christie’s London as part of the private Resandro collection. The Egyptian brown quartzite is expected to sell for over £4 million.
However, the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities have claimed that the 3,000-year-old bust might have been stolen from the Karnak temple in Luxor, and subsequently reached out to the auction house and the UN’s culture agency UNESCO to try and stop the sale. The ministry said it has a claim to artefacts under the current protection of antiquities law (article 42) and has requested to see the documents of ownership of the artefact.
Other items in the Resandro collection include marble heads dating from ancient Rome, a painted wooden Egyptian coffin, and a bronze Egyptian cat statue.
The Egyptian Embassy in London has been in contact with the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the auction house in order to stop the sale and return the statue to Egypt. It said, “Efforts come in the framework of the eagerness of both the ministry of foreign affairs and the effects towards the continuous coordination of the retrieving of Egyptian artefacts smuggled from abroad.”
However, Christie’s insist that the statue is being sold legitimately. In a statement from the auction house they said, “We would not offer for sale any object where there was concern over ownership or export. The work has been widely exhibited and published and we have alerted the Egyptian Embassy so they are aware of the sale.”
“Ancient objects by their nature cannot be traced over millennia,” said a spokeswoman for Christie’s.
“It is hugely important to establish recent ownership and legal right to sell which we have clearly done. We would not offer for sale any object where there was concern over ownership or export.”
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Cover image: Statue of Tutankhamun’s head. Photo: Christie’s via The Guardian