Netherlands to return 3,500-year-old Egyptian sculpture

The Netherlands announced it will return a 3,500-year-old Egyptian sculpture, likely stolen during the Arab Spring, to Egypt, Dutch Caretaker Prime Minister Dick Schoof said Sunday during the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Egypt, according to Inspectorate of Government Information and Heritage (Inspectie Overheidsinformatie en Erfgoed).

The artifact, a sculpted head believed to depict a high-ranking official from the reign of Pharaoh Thutmose III, was offered for sale at the Tefaf art fair in Maastricht in 2022.

After an anonymous tip, authorities determined the piece had been illegally exported from Egypt. The dealer subsequently surrendered the sculpture voluntarily.

Dutch officials indicated the head was likely plundered during the Arab Spring protests in 2011 or 2012. The sculpture could be returned to Egypt later this year.