Egypt has sent an official request to the UK asking that the departure of a 3,000-year-old Tutankhamun stone bust be prevented after it was sold in the Christie’s auction house in London, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported on Saturday.
The report added that Egypt would file a lawsuit demanding that the bust be returned to its home country.
The Christie’s auction house sold the bust on July 4 at 5,000 euros, alongside another 32 artifacts including a stone panel painted with the face of Amun-Ra.
Christie’s has refrained from releasing the buyer’s name of the Tutankhamun bust upon the buyer’s request.
According to the Egyptian government, the bust possibly came from the Monto Temple, north of Karnak or the Temple of Mut south of Karnak, or from inside the Temple of Amun in Heliopolis. Studies so far indicate that the bust likely came from Karnak Temple after 1970.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
