The Netherlands has officially returned a 3,500-year-old Egyptian sculpture after it was discovered at a Dutch art fair in 2022. The artefact, looted during unrest in Egypt, was confirmed by Dutch authorities to have been unlawfully removed from the country.
Investigations by Dutch police and the cultural heritage inspectorate in 2025 established that the stone head, likely plundered during the 2011 Arab Spring, had surfaced on the international art market before being seized.
Experts say the sculpture, originally part of a block statue, comes from Luxor in southern Egypt and depicts a senior official from the reign of Pharaoh Thutmose III (1479–1425 BC).
The piece was confiscated in Maastricht in 2022. Sycomore Ancient Art, the dealer that had acquired it, voluntarily surrendered the artefact after raising concerns about its provenance.
Dutch Culture Minister Gouke Moes, who handed the sculpture to Egyptian Ambassador Emad Hanna, emphasised the importance of returning cultural property. “Our policy is to return what doesn’t belong to us and to return it always to the rightful cultural group or country,” he said.
Ambassador Hanna noted the significance of such artefacts for Egypt’s tourism and economy. “When tourists come to Egypt to see these treasures, it definitely makes a difference,” he said.
Plans for displaying the sculpture in Egypt have not yet been announced.
