National Egyptian Museum
On 15th March, the SCA released an official list of over 60 missing items. Twelve items have been recovered from this list in mid March and 5 more at the end of March, which are shown in the photo, whose recovery was described by Dr Hawass. These items are catalogued in this SCA list which has details of their conservation status. (Items recovered shortly afer the break in are not shown in this SCA list.) Three of the Tutankhamun objects and a Yuya shabti were recovered in early April.
On 2nd May, the recovery of a further further four bronze statues was announced, two from the list of items missing from Egyptian Museum and two presently unidentified.
The outstanding list is as follows, which has been re-issued as an SCA document with improved photographs and inventory details (version: 28th March 2011):
01. JE 60710.1 Gilded Wooden Figure of Tutankhamun on a Skiff, Throwing a Harpoon: Figure (recovered, parts of one leg missing, damage to crown)
02. JE 60713 Gilded Wood Statue of Tutankhamun Wearing the Red Crown
03. JE 60716.1 Gilded Wooden Statue of Menkaret Carrying a Mummified Tutankhamun: Statue ofTutankhamun
04. JE 62006 Gilded Wood Fanstock (recovered – one face shattered, pieces missing)
05. JE 62008 Gilded Bronze Trumpet with Painted Wooden Core (recovered)
06. JE 26083 Wooden Model Vase(located within museum)
07. JE 31720 Terracotta Plaque in the Form of a Bed (located within museum)
08. CG 38530 Bronze Seated Statue of Anubis (recovered)
09. CG 38998 Bronze Seated Statue of Bastet (recovered)
10. JE 77 Bronze Striding Statue of the God Hapi (recoverd)
11. JE 658 Bronze Top of a Scepter in the Shape of the Goddess Hat-Mehit Wearing a Fish Headdress (Lates Nilotica) (recovered)
12. JE 9080 Bronze Striding Statue of Onuris
13. JE 17914 Bronze Seated Statue of Osiris (recovered)
14. JE 18020 Schist Striding Statue of Neferhotep (recovered)
15. JE 22040 Bronze Standing Statue of Osiris (recovered in May)
16. JE 22196 Bronze Fish on a Stand (recovered)
17. JE 27324 Limestone Statue of a Recumbent Bull (recovered)
18. JE 29868 Bronze Standing Statue of Sobek in the form of a Crocodile-headed Man (recovered)
19. JE 30324 Bronze Striding Statue of the Goddess Neith
20. JE 36598 Inscribed Bronze Seated Statue of a Cat (Bastet) Dedicated by Padiamen (?? recovered?? – see below)
21. JE 67925 Inscribed Bronze Striding Statue of Harpocrates Wearing the Andjety Diadem (recovered)
22. JE 91488 Inscribed Bronze Sceptre of Ankhusiri (recovered)
23. TR 3.2.19.23 Bronze Statue of an Apis Bull Wearing the Sun Disk and Uraeus (recovered – broken into 6 pieces)
24. TR 10.11.21.3 Bronze False Beard
25. TR 10.11.21.8 Bronze False Beard
26. JE 68995 Plastered Wooden Shabti of Tjuya Covered with Silver Leaf, Incised with Nine Lines of Inscription
27. JE 68984 Wooden Shabti of Yuya with Ten Lines of Inscription in Yellow (still missing, despite reports of recovery)
28. JE 68989 Painted and Gilded Wooden Shabti of Yuya with Seven Lines of Incised Inscription
29. JE 68998 Plastered and Gilded Wooden Shabti of Tjuya with Nine Lines of Incised Inscription
30. JE 68982 Wooden Shabti of Yuya with Eleven Lines of Inscription in Yellow (recovered)
31. JE 68983 Wooden Shabti of Yuya with Nine Lines of Incised Inscription in Yellow
32. JE 68987 Wooden Shabti of Yuya with Nine Lines of Incised Inscription in Blue
33. JE 68994 Uninscribed Calcite Shabti of Yuya
34. JE 68992 Ebony Shabti of Yuya with Seven Lines of Inscription in Yellow
35. JE 68993 Painted Wooden Shabti of Yuya with Two Vertical Columns of Incised Blue Inscription
36. JE 44867 Unfinished Limestone Statue of Nefertiti as an Offering Bearer
37. JE 44874 Red Granite Striding Statue of an Amarna Princess
38. JE 65040 Quartzite Head of an Amarna Princess
39. JE 53250 Steatite Statue of Bes on a Calcite Base
40. JE 44873 Quartzite Statue of an Amarna Princess
41. JE 59291 Steatite Statue of a Scribe with Thoth as a Baboon on a Limestone Base
42. JE 52976 Painted Limestone Statue of a Seated Man
43. JE 29357 Bronze Statue of an Apis Bull with a Sun Disk Between its Horns
44. JE 30204 Striding Bronze Figure of Nakht
45. JE 39590 Painted Limestone Shabti of an Official
46. JE 45664 Faience Round Bead Bracelet (recovered)
47. JE 47906 Gold, Stone and Faience Collar
48. JE 47909 Faience Bead Collar with Pendants in the Shape of Lily (recovered)
49. JE 49104 String of 28 Coral Beads (recovered)
50. JE 49105 String of Gold Beads and Figurines (recovered)
51. JE 55175 Part of a Lapis Lazuli Girdle of Merytamun B
52. JE 58434 Necklace Composed of 44 Glass Beads Molded in Metal (recovered)
53. JE 94481 10 Faience Amulets and a Faience Bead
54. JE 27326 Painted Limestone Standing Statue of a Young Woman Wearing a Large Wig
It is difficult to compile this list as there are apparent discrepancies between the items reported to be discovered and those reported stolen. For instance, Dr Hawass reported the recovery of shabti 68984 but it transpires it was wrongly identified and this shabti is still missing, but 68982 has been recovered.
Luxor Times Magazine and others announed on 17th March that 12 items were recovered in a police sting. Some supposed photos of the recovered items have appeared, but these are not yet considered to be reliable. The list is thought to include:
- 5 bronze statues
- 1 limestone statue
- 1 statue of undetermined material
- 1 gold necklace
- 4 necklaces of faience and coloured glass
Youm 7 reports n late 2011 that the Bastet statue was recovered but there has been no official report.
I have retained earlier unofficial lists (below) for now as these have better photos for some items. There also remains considerable concern about damage to items. Various important items have been shown clearly to be damaged in various segments of TV coverage but no full report is has been published even a year later. Further photos can be found on Loot Busters.
Damage Report
On 3rd February, The Minister of State for Antiquities, Dr Hawass, released photos of a press tour to inspect the damage to artifacts in the break in overnight on 28th/29th January, including this one of the Tutankhamun exhibit rooms. This tour should help to reassure that the damage to artifacts has not been materially under-reported. Conservation is underway and is expected to be completed shortly. The list of damaged artifacts emerged over the two weeks following the break in. Initially the most authoritative source for the list of artefacts damaged has been Eloquent Peasant, maintained by Margaret Maitland. National Geographic has also carried a montage of images. This was supplemented on 6th February by a clarification from Dr Hawass.
However, on February 11, Dr Hawass posted a more complete summary of the damage on his personal blog. Together with the videos and photos gathered in Kate Phizackerley’s article on News from the Valley of the Kings, this offers the fullest list of damage, although the Hawass statement does not include some of the Tutankhamun objects identified by Maitland in her earlier article (linked above), notably the statue of King Tutankhamun in a skiff with a harpoon.
In summary:
- 13 Late Period exhibition cases were opened. Precise details are unknown but approximately 70 items were thrown on the floor (see the video below) so some damage but in total only 20 – 25 need restoration or repair. The impression given by Dr Hawass is that the damage was mostly to shabtis and other smallish items.
- The boat from the tomb of Mehseti at Asyut was damaged but looks to be readily repairable
- One soldier from the tomb of Mehseti, Asyut was removed but seems to be intact
- The statue of Tutankhamun riding a black panther was very badly damaged. It has been repaired but the joins in the photographs showing conservation were very visible.
- Two walking sticks were broken and one golden fan was detached from its stave. Again, both can be repaired.
- The cartonnage from Tuya’s mummy lies on the floor and there was concern for her mummy. However, it is believed that the cartonnage was displayed separately from her mummy, and the vitrine holding her mummy appears to be unopened. The damage to the cartonnage was limited to one figure of a god which was snapped, but this can be repaired.
- One statue of King Akhenaten bearing an offering tray suffered minor damage.
- Two mummies have been damaged. After considerable Internet conjecture, these are now confirmed to be Late Period mummies (see separate page). Additionally, the case containing one empty New Kingdom coffin was opened. Although the coffin was opened, it sustained no damage.
- Early reports suggested some jewelery had been stolen. This has been denied by Dr Hawass. The source of the original report could be that reproduction jewelery was stolen from the museum shop. It is also known that those captured trying to escape the compound were carrying both wooden and brass statues. On 6th February, the Museum Director Tarek El Awady, confirmed that the Museum cannot yet confirm that nothing is missing: “Awady said it was still unclear if any looters escaped that night, and it will take more time to fully account for items in the museum to determine if anything is missing”. On 11th February, Dr Hawass confirmed that he had requested an inventory to validate his belief / hope that nothing was missing from the collection. As described above, some items were later acknowledged to have been stolen.
This is a contemporaneous interview from Dr Hawass explaining the intrusion:
Further reports of attempted break-ins were received on 31st January. These were apparently repulsed by soldiers and the would-be looters arrested. In all, four separate attempts to break in to the museum have been reported; only two were successful: on the same night that objects from Tutankhamun’s tomb were damaged, the museum gift shop was raided.
Archived Breaking News Section
I will tidy the page later, but wanted to get today’s news on quickly,
Breaking news 12th February
Dr Hawass has confirmed the following items were stolen from the Egyptian Museum (I have added inventory details as known):
Tutankhamun being carried by a goddess (Photo: Griffith Institute)1. Gilded wood statue of Tutankhamun being carried by a goddess (tomb object number 296a) – fragments of the goddess portion retrieved, but the Tutankhamun figure is entirely missing still
2. Gilded wood statue of Tutankhamun harpooning – only the torso and upper limbs of the king are missing. (There were two similar figures found in the King’s tomb: objects 275c, 275e, and it is presently unknown which was stolen.)
3. Retrieved (intact) on 16th February Limestone statue of Akhenaten holding an offering table (belived to be the statuette found by Borchardt at Tel-el Amarna IN 1911, Egyptian Museum number JE43580)
4. Statue of Nefertiti making offerings
5. Sandstone head of an Amarna princess
6. Stone statuette of a scribe from Amarna
7. Wooden shabti statuettes from Yuya (11 pieces) – one was retrieved 14th February (condition unknown); 10 are still missing
8. Retrieved (condition unknown) on 14th February Heart Scarab of Yuya
Yuya’s heart scarab and one shabti were found outside the entrance to the museum gift shop on 14th February according to Ahram Online.
The best present catalogues of these missing items has been complied by the Penn Cultural Heritage Centre and includes photographs where available to the author. (Some of the items are not fully defined by the Hawass announcement and greater clarity is sought, including inventory reference numbers and inventory photographs from the Egyptian Museum itself. It is deeply disappointing that the Museum has not published these details in full. Sandro Vannini photographed the Tutankhamun collection for the book King Tutankhamun, Treasures of the Tomb by Dr Hawass, and many other objects for Dr Hawass new book Highlights of the Egyptian Museum. High quality colour photographs of most of the stolen items should be available to Dr Hawass.)
By Kate Phizackerley
[...] lijst van missende objecten uit het museum, nu Bastet terug is. – nog 46 objecten, aldus de Egyptological Looting Database (Bastet is nr. 20 in de lijst en is al in deze rekensom meegenomen). Print PDF Dit bericht is [...]
[...] National Egyptian Museum [...]
Two more items have been recovered:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/44/11229/Heritage/Museums/Four-more-artefacts-are-back-in-the-Egyptian-museu.aspx
Some more items have been returned to the museum. This is good news. The bad news is that they are damaged.
Read the news and see some pictures here:
http://luxortimesmagazine.blogspot.com/2011/04/four-of-egyptian-museum-missing-objects.html
News from Z. Hawass dating march 29th:
“On a happier note, we were able to recover an additional five objects that were among those missing from the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. These five pieces were found yesterday with three of the criminals who broke into the museum. They took the five objects to Khan el-Khalili in order to sell them. A man at the bazaar told the criminals that he would pay 1500LE for the pieces. The looters said that the pieces were from the museum and worth much more than that price. After this, the man informed the police who apprehended the criminals. The five objects are bronze pieces dating to the Late Period: a scepter, a statue of an Apis Bull, a seated statue of Bastet, a statue of Neith, and a statue of Osiris. There are 37 objects still missing from the museum, but I am confident that they will be found soon.”
http://www.drhawass.com/blog/current-news-sites-and-objects
The good news is also reported via Al Masry Al Youm, including a picture of the Akhenanten statue (maybe an old one).
http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/360877
opps, secondary link. Direct link to ‘sting’ operation is:
http://luxortimesmagazine.blogspot.com/2011/03/police-trap-brings-12-objects-back-to.html
Luxor Times reporting 12 items recovered in police ‘sting’:
http://www.allvoices.com/s/event-8497508/aHR0cDovL2x1eG9ydGltZXNtYWdhemluZS5ibG9nc3BvdC5jb20vMjAxMS8wMy9wb2xpY2UtdHJhcC1icmluZ3MtMTItb2JqZWN0cy1iYWNrLXRvLmh0bWw=
There is a new list of missing items which includes many more than officially anounced at the moment:
http://www.artsjournal.com/realcleararts/2011/03/a-leaked-inventory-of-missing.html
Dr. Hwass has a new blog posting that reads:
“A complete inventory is still underway, but for now, it seems that relatively few objects are still missing. This is of course terrible, and we will continue to do everything we can to bring back these pieces as soon as possible; we still hope that they will turn up, as four of the objects that were originally reported as missing have been found already.”
I am unclear which four artifacts he is referring to and whether or not they are in the list of eight above.
In an interview with german “Der SPIEGEL” Zahi Hawass says that 8 pieces from the museum are still missing. He now says that 30 cases have been broken and 70 pieces were damaged. 20 of them were severely damaged. The rest of the interview are typical hawassrisms.
http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/mensch/0,1518,746438,00.html
The main difference between the two Tutankhamun harpooning statues is in the red crown.
On one of the statues the crown has a curly wire, representing the proboscis of a honey bee.
The other has not.
The video mentioned in my previous comment seems to indicate the harpooning statue with the curly wire was displayed in the case that wasn’t affected by the looting.
It’s inventory number is JE 60710, according to this website:
http://www.globalegyptianmuseum.org/detail.aspx?id=14821
The stolen statue is the one without the curly wire.
Inventory number is JE 60709.
A very interesting video showing the Tutankhamun statues in the Cairo museum can be found here:
http://heritage-key.com/blogs/malcolmj/treasures-kv62-king-tuts-funerary-figures
It clearly shows the two opposing display cases in the museum. One holds a Tutankhamun harpooning statue and a statue of the Farao standing on the black leopard.
The opposing display case is the one that was smashed by the thieves. It contained four statues of which two are similar to the ones in the other showcase.
The second Farao on black leopard statue was smashed but currently is undergoing restoration.
Of the second Tut harpooning statue the torso is missing.
The statue of Tutankhamun being carried by a goddess was stolen, but fragments were found.
The statue of the Farao holding a staff is on an exhibition tour, I think I read somewhere…?
Dr Hawass comments on the missing statue of Akhenaten on his website on February 16 th:
He was also misinformed by one of the museum staff about the statue of Akhenaten as an offering bearer; he was told that this was only damaged when it was, in fact, missing.
Fragments belonging to the statue of Tutankhamun being carried by the goddess Menkaret have been found
February 16th update by Dr Hawass on his website:
Dr. Zahi Hawass, Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs, announced today that a committee of archaeologists completed a preliminary search of the Egyptian Museum, Cairo and its grounds. The missing Heart Scarab of Yuya was recovered on the west side of the museum gardens, near the new bookshop. Wooden fragments belonging to the damaged New Kingdom coffin, still on the second floor of the museum, were also found in this area. The search team also found one of the eleven missing shabtis of Yuya and Thuya underneath a showcase. Fragments belonging to the statue of Tutankhamun being carried by the goddess Menkaret have been found; all the located fragments belong to the figure of Menkaret. The small figure of the king has not yet been found.
Dr. Hawass said it seems the looters dropped objects as they fled, and every inch of the museum must be searched before the Registration, Collections Management, and Documentation Department, which is overseeing the inventory, can produce a complete and final report of exactly what is missing. The museum staff is not yet able to move freely within the museum, and has, until now, had to walk in groups of 10-15 people, accompanied by soldiers. Unfortunately, this has slowed down the search, and made it very difficult to carry out a final inventory. The army is allowing very few people into the museum, and the first time the museum’s office staff was allowed in was on 6 February 2011. The list announced in the press release of 12 February, 2011 is preliminary, and will continue to be updated as new information comes to light. As Dr. Hawass has previously stated, until a full and thorough search of the museum and its grounds has been completed and all of the damaged vitrines inventoried, a list of missing objects cannot be finalized.
On February 6th Dr Hawass wrote on his website about the Akhenaten statue:
On another note, I went to the Egyptian museum today with reporters from the Wall Street Journal and other newspapers.
We reviewed every smashed vitrine. One showcase in the Amarna galleries was smashed; it contained a standing statue of the king carrying an offering tray. While the showcase is badly damaged, the statue sustained very minor damage and is repairable. ( ! )
It very much seems he was either badly informed by museum staff, possibly afraid of his reaction, or knowingly gave a false statement, which to me seems much less likely.
Unfortunately he seems not to have checked the condition of the statue in person……
to complete my posting below:
Part of a coffin dating back to the Modern Kingdom 3,000 years ago was also found outside the museum.
“We found two of the eight missing artefacts outside the museum between a government building that got burnt and the gift shop. We are continuing the search and will find more,” Hawass told Reuters.
Artefacts still missing include a statue of Akhenaten’s wife Nefertiti making offerings, a stone statuette of a scribe from Amarna and the torso and upper limbs of a gilded wood statue of Tutankhamun.
Hawass said thieves also attacked a storehouse near the pyramids of Dahshour 35 km (21.75 miles) south of Cairo on Sunday, the second attack on the site in days.
A few stolen items possibly recovered:
CAIRO | Mon Feb 14, 2011 8:55pm IST
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s Antiquities Ministry has recovered some of the national treasures that went missing from the Egyptian Museum during an uprising which unseated Hosni Mubarak, the country’s top Egyptologist said Monday.
Items including a statue of King Tutankhamun and objects from the era of the Pharaoh Akhenaten went missing when looters broke into the museum during mass protests that engulfed the streets around the museum in central Cairo.
But Zahi Hawass, recently named minister of state for antiquities affairs, said in a statement that some objects including a Heart Scarab and a small Ushabti statue were found.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by fadi bessada, fadi bessada. fadi bessada said: Last detailed report of stolen artefacts from #egypt museum http://egyptopaedia.com/2011/cairo-memphis/national-egyptological-museum [...]
I’ve added photos of some of the other stolen items here – http://phdiva.blogspot.com/2011/02/cairo-museum-thefts.html
http://www.drhawass.com/blog/sad-news News just in from Dr Hawass that more antiquities have gone missing from the Cairo Museum
There have been petrol bombs and molotov cocktails thrown towards the Cairo Museum. No damage has been done yet, the way things are going it is only a matter of time…extremely worrying!
Many people have asked about the funeral stela of Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu (Cairo Stela A 9422, formerly Bulaq 666) and also his sarcophagus. Any information about the status of these artifacts would be most appreciated.
Aleister, there is no specific news but 99.9% at present it is safe. It is believed that the areas of the museum which were affected were Late Period and the New Kingdom area for which we have pictures. The museum is guarded by the army. Until the situation is resolved and we have firm news, there are no guarantees, but this is presently on of the artefacts which isn’t on the worry list!
Kate
Thank you so much!
This is shocking. I just can’t understand why looters feel the need to break into museums and destroy this history. Or to loot in general. When you love ancient history its upsetting.
I’ll be going to Cairo in September. I sure hope everything has calmed down by then.
The Eloquent Peasant has updated information, including a glass case of Tut’s canes that now stands empty: http://www.eloquentpeasant.com/#10
Thanks Willow. I’m just a bit worried that the case could have been empty before the intrusion. The top isn’t smashed. If somebody is wanting to quickly take things form a glass case the last thing they do is smash a narrow hole in the side. Also, I wonder whether the prominent white labels (very new by the standards of the Egyptian Museum) say “Removed for Golden Pharaohs Exhibition”. I hope that’s the case anyway. I’m intending to monitor what people say tomorrow.
Thanks for posting,
Kate
I was last April in the Cairo Museum and at that time, the cartonnage was displayed separately.