Press Release - Imesy's Coffin to Return to Egypt
Culture Minister, Farouk Hosni, announced that following two years of negotiations and investigations, the 21st Dynasty (1070-945 BC) coffin of a private individual called Imesy is to be returned to Egypt.
The Minister described the coffin as amongst of the most beautiful plastered and painted coffins with colorful religious scenes. He added that in early March, Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), will be traveling to Washington, DC in order to retrieve the coffin.Dr. Zahi Hawass relates that this story began in October 2008 when US customs officials at Miami International Airport detained a shipment from Spain containing the 21st Dynasty coffin. The importer, however, did not possess documentation demonstrating his ownership of the artifact. The lack of documents raised concerns for the American authorities, who suspected that the object might have left Egypt illegally. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began an investigation and determined that the coffin had left Egypt after 1970 as the earliest public record of the piece dated to 2007 when it was exhibited in Madrid.
On the basis of their investigation, ICE confiscated the coffin and contacted the SCA who requested that the object be seized. The SCA petitioned to DHS for the artifact’s return to Egypt. In November 2009, the matter went before US courts at which time the SCA presented their case with the help of a pro-bono lawyer from Miami. The importer eventually retracted his claim and withdrew from the case. The SCA agreed that the coffin be forfeited to US authorities with the guarantee that the object be repatriated to Egypt as soon as possible.
Arrangements are currently underway for the coffin to be handed over to the SCA as of March 10th, 2010, in Washington, DC during an official gala ceremony.
Further information:
Press Release - Five Relief Fragments to be Returned to Egypt
Further information:
Restoring the Naos of Amenemhat I Location
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