Many countries want artefacts returned, but at best, the response to these requests has been only the tiniest trickle, from museums that continue to cling to notions of legitimacy.

From:
Examiner

Never ending debate: repatriation of cultural artifacts
April 14, 8:12 PMNY Art ExaminerJennifer Eberhart

One of the most widely debated topics in the art history world today is repatriation, or the return of “stolen or gifted” items to the home country. Should museums be allowed to keep their collections as they are, for the benefit of their patrons, or are they required to return significant works of art to the countries they originated from?

The debate continues as Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s antiquities director, recently announced his continued quest to retrieve artifacts stolen from the countries centuries ago, when the archaeological statutes that we have now weren’t in place. Hawass claims he will be relentless in his efforts, and is teaming up with other countries around the globe in order to further his mission. Meeting last week at the “Conference on International Cooperation for the Protection and Repatriation of Cultural Heritage”, Egypt and 25 other countries, including China, Peru and Italy, hope to reclaim many of these ancient artifacts from museums around the world.
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Egypt’s conference on looted antiquities opened with the inimitable Zahi Hawass calling for unity & cooperation between the countries that are trying to retrieve artefacts.

From:
Zawya (UAE)

Egypt forum on looted antiquities opens with call for unity
By Christophe de Roquefeuil

CAIRO, Apr 07, 2010 (AFP) – Egyptian antiquities supremo Zahi Hawass on Wednesday opened an international conference on recovering ancient artefacts from abroad, saying countries must unite to recover their stolen heritage.

“We need to cooperate, we need a unification between our countries,” Hawass told antiquities officials, deputy culture ministers and museum directors from 21 countries at the two-day Cairo meeting.
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Egypt is holding a conference on stolen & looted antiquities, bringing together representatives from many of the nations that are requesting returns. Hopefully, many other countries can learn from some of Egypt’s recent successes in this field.

From:
BBC News

Page last updated at 01:23 GMT, Wednesday, 7 April 2010 02:23 UK
Egypt hosts meeting on recovery of ‘stolen treasures’

Global culture officials are to meet to discuss how to recover ancient treasures which they say have been stolen and displayed overseas.

Sixteen countries will be represented at the two-day conference in Cairo.
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Jonathan Downs, author of Discovery at Rosetta, now has a website / blog, which gives more information about the stone & the claims for its return.

Make sure you view the posts section of the site, which includes articles on whether Britain really has legal ownership of what is possibly one of the most significant (in terms of our understanding of ancient Egypt) artefacts in their collection.

An ancient coffin smuggled into the US many years ago is now due to be returned to Egypt.

From:
Press TV

US to return smuggled Egyptian coffin
Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:59:34 GMT

Egyptian Culture Minister Faruq Hosni says his country will reclaim a Pharaonic coffin smuggled into the US more than 125 years ago.

Egypt’s antiquities chief Zahi Hawass will receive the ornately painted coffin next month, Hosni said in a statement.
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Zahi Hawass is continuing to campaign for the return of Egypt’s cultural treasures, with a clear cut strategy of why he is doing it & of which specific artefacts he is focusing his efforts on.

From:
Agence France Presse

Zahi Hawass, media-savvy guardian of Egypt’s past
By Christophe de Roquefeuil (AFP) – 15th February 20009

CAIRO — Egypt’s antiquities chief Zahi Hawass, at 62, still bubbles with excitement whenever he announces the latest discovery of a tomb or relic, his eyes lighting up under the brim of his trademark Indiana Jones-style hat.

Aside from his love of the media limelight, Hawass is locked in battle to assert Egypt’s sovereignty over its heritage, even if that means crossing swords with the world’s most prestigious museums.
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Zahi Hawass is still trying to retrieve the bust of Nefertiti from Berlin. The way Egypt promotes its archaeology as its own has moved on a lot in recent years, but there is still far more that needs to be achieved, to retrieve many of the key iconic artefacts from abroad.

From:
Bloomberg

Egypt Relics Chief Pulls in Revenue as He Fights for Nefertiti
By Daniel Williams
Jan. 27 (Bloomberg)

Zahi Hawass, head of Egypt’s antiquities department, promotes his country’s cultural treasures with a showman’s skills and an entrepreneur’s instincts.

His Indiana Jones-style hat and vest and television- documentary appearances put an Egyptian face on Egyptology after two centuries of foreign domination, he says. His goals include recovering icons such as a 3,300-year-old bust of Queen Nefertiti from abroad and restoring national pride in Egypt’s relics — even in someone else’s museum.
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Dr. Zahi Hawass is confident that one day the Rosetta Stone will return to Egypt. It is not a question of if, but when.

From:
Asharq Alawsat

The Rosetta Stone Will Return
26/01/2010
By Dr. Zahi Hawass

Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat- With all its history and glory, Egypt owes [a great deal to] the black basalt slab called the Rosetta Stone that unravelled the mysteries of Pharoanic scripture engraved on temples, graves, obelisks and the pyramids. Before the stone was discovered, these writings were merely signs and symbols.

The story of the puzzling stone began when part of the French [military] expedition to Egypt arrived in the Mediterranean city of Rosetta, where the water of the River Nile meets the Mediterranean Sea. The soldiers admired the city and its fresh air, and were fascinated by its residents, their handicrafts, their small fishing boats and the beautiful houses. Engineers then made changes to the Citadel of Qaitbay in Rosetta before they surrounded it with red brick walls to act as a fort and protect the city’s entrance against a potential English invasion.
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More details on the conference being organised in Egypt on the retrieval of looted antiquities.

From:
Agence France Presse

Egypt to host conference on the return of antiquities
(AFP) – 2 hours ago

CAIRO — Egypt will host a conference in April for countries demanding the return of their antiquities, stolen but on display in museums round the world, Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities said Wednesday. The conference will “discuss the question of returning stolen antiquities,” the council said in a statement. It gave no dates for the three-day conference.

Thirty countries, including Greece, Mexico, Peru, Afghanistan, Iraq, Cambodia and China, will participate in the Cairo gathering, said Egypt’s antiquities director Zahi Hawass, who has made the return of looted Egyptian artefacts the hallmark of his tenure.
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Despite vigorous campaigning, by Egypt’s Zahi Hawass, indications are that Berlin’s Neues Museum has no plans to return the Nefertiti Bust that is currently in their museum.

From:
Examiner

Queen Nefertiti will stay in Berlin
December 24, 9:05 AM
Archaeology – News – Examiner – Will Hunt

Egypt has been on a crusade of late, demanding the return of apparently stolen ancient artifacts from Europe’s museums. Last week, the Louvre buckled under the pressure of Zahi Hawass, the media-friendly (ok, media-mongering) secretary general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, and returned five 3,200-year-old fragments of a tomb painting from Luxor.
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A forthcoming conference on cultural property organised by Egypt will hopefully help the cause of many other restitution campaigns across Africa & Asia.

From:
Deutsche Presse Agentur

Egypt to aid return of stolen Asian, African artifacts (Roundup)
By Shabtai Gold Dec 23, 2009, 15:34 GMT

Cairo – Egypt’s antiquities chief announced plans on Wednesday for a conference to help coordinate the strategy of African and Asian countries who had artifacts ‘stolen’ from them.

‘At the end of March we will hold a conference to meet with others who suffered like us from stolen artifacts and to discuss how to help all of us in efforts to return the stolen artifacts,’ said Zahi Hawass, the secretary general of Egypt’s Supreme Council for Antiquities.
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Egypt is continuing their efforts to secure the return of the Nefertiti bust from Germany with a planned formal request.

From:
Independent Online (Zaire)

Cairo ready to demand the return of Nefertiti
December 21 2009 at 02:59AM
By Marwa Awad

Cairo – Egypt will formally ask Germany to return a bust of Queen Nefertiti after a Berlin museum official presented papers showing the 3 400-year-old treasure was taken unethically, Egypt’s antiquities chief said on Sunday.

Zahi Hawass said in a statement that documents presented by the head of Berlin’s Neues Museum confirmed that Ludwig Borchardt, who found the bust, tried to pass it off as a less significant find to secure it for Berlin.
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