The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities received two antique statues that were smuggled to Belgium.
Assistant Foreign Minister for Cultural Relations Amr Selim handed over the two pieces of antiquity to a committee from the tourism ministry, in the presence of General Supervisor of the ministry’s Repatriation Antiquities Department Shaaban Abdel-Gawad, and representatives of the Interior Ministry.
The first statue, a painted wooden figurine depicting a man standing on a pedestal, dates back to the period ancient Egyptian dynasties, while the other statue, a wooden ushabti figurine, goes back to the late period of ancient Egypt.
The two pieces were seized by Belgian authorities at a show for selling antiquities. The exhibition owner did not provide any ownership documents for them.