Egyptian artifact removed from auction Mon Jun 12, 10:34 PM ET
An ancient Egyptian vessel expected to sell for as much as $30,000 at auction this week has been pulled from the sale over concerns about how it was removed from Egypt, Christie's auction house said Monday.
"Upon receiving information which led us to believe that the object had possibly been improperly taken out of Egypt, we contacted the appropriate U.S. authorities and withdrew the item from the sale," the auction house said in a statement.
The auction house would not elaborate on what it had learned about the object's removal from Egypt.
The vessel, made out of alabaster, consists of two halves and is carved in the shape of a bird. Experts said it is more than 4,000 years old.
In ancient Egypt, the dead were often buried with items they might need in the afterlife, like food and drink. Those offerings were sometimes kept in containers shaped like the material they were holding, according to the auction catalogue.
The piece was part of a private collection in Israel and was acquired prior to 1975, the catalogue said.
Countries including Italy and Greece have been pressuring museums and other institutions to return antiquities that may have been removed illegally.
In February, the Metropolitan Museum of Art agreed to hand back to Italy more than 20 allegedly looted ancient artifacts in exchange for loans of Italian treasures.
Former Getty Museum antiquities curator Marion True is on trial in Rome for allegedly conspiring with dealers to traffic in looted artifacts. Officials in Italy and Greece have identified dozens of works held by the Getty that they believe were looted.
True denies any wrongdoing.
Posts: 116 | From: USA | Registered: Jan 2006
| IP: Logged |
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic