Egypt seeks to recover 3,000-year-old King Tut bust from auction
The Egyptian government is seeking ways to try and recover its stolen and smuggled antiquities, namely the statue of Tutankhamun’s head that the London-based Christie’s auction house is planning to put up for sale.
CAIRO — London-based auction house Christie’s is poised to sell a bust of Tutankhamun — whose value is around $5 million — on July 4, despite Cairo’s persistent legal and diplomatic efforts to prevent it.
But Egyptian sources have not yet lost hope on halting the sale. A source from Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “There are negotiations with Christie’s about recovering the antiquities put up for sale. [We] are looking into the documents related to those pieces, namely the statue of Tutankhamun’s head.”
