Friday, June 02, 2006

Issues surrounding the Nefertiti bust.

Nevine El-Aref talking about the request, made by Zahi Hawass, to lend Egypt the famous Nefertiti bust, currently on permanent display in Berlin, for a three month period: "Hawass asked the German government to offer the famous bust to Egypt on a three-month loan so that it could go on show at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo to coincide with the centenary celebrations of the German Archeological Institute in Egypt in November 2006. In return, Hawass pledged that the SCA would offer another statue on loan to the Egyptian Museum in Berlin for the three months while Nefertiti was in Egypt. Hawass told Al-Ahram Weekly that the SCA was willing to provide the Germans with all the guarantees required to assure the return of the bust after the completion of the exhibition."
Berlin has so far declined to return the bust on either a temporary or permanent basis. The article puts the request into the general context of the history of the Nefertiti bust and previous requests by the SCA for its return. It also looks, in brief, at other repatriation cases. See the above page for the full story.

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