[CPProt.net] As prices of Egyptian antiquities auctioned abroad continue to rise, Jill Kamil considers the role smuggling continues to play in the trade

[MusSecNetworkCulPropProtNet]

    Changing hands
    As prices of Egyptian antiquities auctioned abroad continue to rise,
Jill Kamil considers the role smuggling continues to play in the trade

    So long as there is a demand for the produce, illegal excavations and
the smuggling of antiquities will continue. Unscrupulous connoisseurs are
always on the lookout for interesting artefacts to add to their private
collections, or to donate to the nation. As a result, high quality relics
are freely available on the international market, and interested parties are
prepared to pay large sums in order to acquire the objects of their desire.
The appetite for Egyptian antiquities is undiminished, as is clear from a
glance at the recent auction catalogues of houses such as Bonhams,
Christie's or Sotherby's.

    Of course, sales at reputable houses are carefully monitored by
responsible professionals who ensure, as best they can, that they are
handing only legal fare. Details of the provenance of objects are provided,
along with publication details of similar pieces, and a history of the
movement of objects through the market. But the system is far from
foolproof.

    In 2002 a set of granite reliefs from the Temple of Isis at Beihbet
Al-Hegara in the Delta turned up on the auction block at Christie's in New
York. They were recognised by French Egyptologist Christine Meeks, who had
studied and documented the entire temple for her doctoral thesis, as those
that had disappeared from the site eight years previously. The sale was
stopped, the objects withdrawn, and they have now been returned to Egypt.

    In 2004, another piece from the same temple turned up -- a fragment of
granite relief featuring the face of a deity facing left. Christie's
declined to reveal the source of the piece even under pressure, but agreed
to withdraw it from the sale. It was then confiscated by the United States
authorities and steps have been taken to return it to Egypt.

    There is a certain irony in the pomp and circumstance that surrounds the
retrieval of such stolen goods. Much fuss is made of their discovery after
the fact, but there is little mention of any steps being taken for the
protection of the monuments from which they were looted. There are now
hundreds of archaeological sites all over Egypt that are still inadequately
protected. To leave them thus open and exposed is to place temptation in the
way of would- be looters and smugglers.

    During the 2002-3 archaeological season, one member of a foreign mission
with a concession to excavate at Mit Rahina (ancient Memphis) reported that
one day, as their team of hired workers were downing tools and headed for
home, "a team of grave robbers could be seen approaching from the other
direction over the horizon." At Giza, outside the protective wall raised
around this famous archaeological site, robbers do not even wait until dark
to carry out their illegal and lucrative activities.

    Last month we learned that 619 Pharaonic artefacts, stolen from the
Egyptian Museum in 2000 and smuggled to London via Switzerland, were shortly
to be retrieved and returned to Egypt following the arrest of the thieves by
the British authorities. But no sooner had this announcement been made, than
it was revealed that 15 antiquities which had disappeared from the stores at
the College of Fine Arts and the Maadi Museum, were up for auction in United
Kingdom. Zahi Hawass of the Supreme Council of Antiquities promptly advised
the minister of culture and Interpol to stop the sale. "Auctioneers abroad
have been cooperating with us," Hawass said. "However, they do sell items if
we do not submit the necessary paperwork within a specified time."

    Antiquities police recently traced and arrested a seven-member gang
operating in Establ Antar west of Assiut for illegal trading in antiquities.
Yet this coup is just the tail end of a long list of arrests that go back
over 30 years. The antiquities thieves are not all galabeya -clad fellahin
as the stereotype has it, or traders like those who were caught red- handed
last year in Minya carrying stolen artefacts for which a dealer was going to
pay them LE5 million ( The Egyptian Gazette, 21 May 2003) Indeed, many of
them work through intermediaries, and some of the foreign collectors of
illegally-obtained Egyptian antiquities have proved in the past to be
well-known curators of museums abroad.

    As Major-General Kamal El-Naggar, head of the Tourism and Antiquities
Police, admitted last year, "it is difficult to curb the flow of smuggled
Egyptian treasures, because they are found over such a widespread area
[that] we cannot keep track of them all." He added that "well-trained
private guards" had been appointed to replace illiterate night-watchmen, and
that policemen regularly check their performance. Nevertheless, El-Naggar
conceded it was still likely that "some of these guards who are young and
inexperienced will not resist the temptation of mind-boggling sums of money
from antiquities dealers," ( The Egyptian Gazette, 11 May 2003).

    Unfortunately, the antiquities smuggling trade embraces all levels, from
the lowest to the highest. It was revealed last year that Tarek El-Siwaissi,
chairman of the National Democratic Party's (NDP) office in the Giza
Governorate, had been remanded in custody for 15 days pending investigation.
El-Siwaissi was accused of having amassed a huge fortune -- estimated at
LE33 million -- from smuggling Pharaonic antiquities to Europe and America
over the previous two years. He had allegedly made hefty bribes to certain
high- ranking NDP figures to ensure his selection as chairman of the NDP
office in Egypt's primary antiquities area, where he would have easy access
to antiquities officials who would help him conduct his illicit smuggling.
Six officials --four of whom are still on the run -- were also implicated in
the scandal ( Al-Ahram Weekly, 22-28 May 2003)

    Back in 1972, following the UNESCO agreement that all archaeological
items proven to have been stolen must be handed back to their country of
origin, Egypt went into full ostrich-head-in-the-sand mode. If you believed
official pronouncements, no objects had ever been smuggled out of Egypt!
Only in the 1990s did the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) manage to
establish ties with the International Police Organisation (Interpol) and
customs agencies across the world. Together with the newly-formed Department
for the Recovery of Stolen Artefacts (DRSA), the SCA began to mount the
watch for signs of lost treasures. And it was only nine years ago, in April
1995, that Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni for the first time admitted that
over 300 artefacts had been stolen, mostly from store-houses, and smuggled
abroad since 1969 ( Egyptian Gazette, 4 April 1995).

    Hosni's announcement provoked bitter criticism, especially when he
admitted that the storehouses at archaeological sites had not been inspected
for 50 years. What he failed to mention was that, 10 years ago, most
provincial museums did not even have a padlock on their doors. Nor would
they have done much good if they had. In 1995, thieves burrowed through the
wall of a storeroom used to house artefacts at the Temple of Montu in
Karnak, and looted some 55 scarabs and statues. Amid all the celebrations
over their recovery, silence continued to enfold the conditions that had
enabled the looting of the treasures in the first place.

    The same applies to the more recent recovery of four fragments of a
painted limestone relief from the tomb of Seti I at Luxor, depicting
standing figures of the dead Pharaoh before a number of gods. The missing
fragments came to light at Atlanta's Michael C Carlos Museum, on the
occasion of the opening of an exhibition entitled Ramses I -- The Search for
the Lost Pharaoh. According to the curator, when the consignment of
Pharaonic objects arrived from the Niagara Falls Museum, he immediately
recognised the distinctive style of Seti's tomb, which has been officially
closed to the public for many years while being restored by person or
persons undisclosed.

    Meanwhile, the market for Egyptian antiquities continues to witness
astonishing price inflation. What exactly is the worth of the treasures to
which we constantly refer as invaluable? Auction prices in London and New
York may give some idea. Yet the specialists who evaluate the masterpieces
that pass through these houses have sometimes expressed surprise that buyers
are willing to bid so far beyond their professional assessment.

    Take the exquisitely carved Late Period basalt block statue of General
Pakyr(er) which was recently sold at Bonhams. This is an extraordinarily
beautiful work of art, and was well groomed for the sales preview, being
exhibited in a well-lit glass showcase enabling the 31.4cm-high figure to be
seen from all angles. The general is shown seated on a small pillow, his
legs dawn up high in front of him, both arms resting on his knees. He is
enveloped in a cloak from which his hands emerge. The left hand is held flat
with the palm facing down, while the right clutches a kerchief. He also
sports a broad double wig and a short slightly flaring beard. General
Pkyr(er)'s facial features are finely carved, his nose alone being damaged,
and he has full outlined lips. The four-line inscription on the front of his
robe reads: "O Horus, good bull, give life, prosperity, a long lifetime, and
a very good old age (to) General Pkyr(er), son of Horwedja." The two-column
inscription on the back reads: "O Horus, mighty bull, may your living
protection be effective...."

    The initial asking price for this well-known and well-documented work of
art (from the "Omar Pacha Sultan Collection, probably ex Michel Abemayor,
New York, ex Baratt-Brown Collection", according to the catalogue) was
¨200,000--300,000. When the auction commenced, however, there was a palpable
intake of breath as bids were raised, and raised again -- whether in person,
by telephone, by fax, e-mail or appointed agent was not exactly clear.
Finally, the piece was sold for a cool ¨600,000 -- double the expert's
expectation. Admittedly, this was a well-known piece, published in the
literature in 1929, 1935, 1960 and 1995. It was previously sold at Sotheby's
New York in 1997 (lot 52), before moving on to Bonhams. Nevertheless, the
astronomical price paid does give an idea of the amount that interested
parties and their agents, including national collections, are now willing to
pay.

    The Bonhams sale of selected masterpieces also included a Romano-
Egyptian solid gold arm bracelet in the form of a snake, weighting 146.4
grams, dating to around the first century AD. With its naturalistically
modelled head and cross-hatching indicating the skin terminating in an
undulating tail, it is an exquisite piece of jewellery, similar to those in
the hoard of 36 gold bracelets and two gold rings discovered in 1905 in the
Kom Abu Bello area in the Delta Governorate of Beheira, and which were
reported "missing from the basement of the Egyptian Museum" three months ago
( Al-Ahram Weekly, 5 August 2004).

    Theft from a major museum need not necessarily imply neglect or faulty
security systems. As Egyptians are wont to point out, it happens all over
the world. Witness the apparent ease with which on 2 November 2004, thieves
stole 15 rare items of mediaeval Chinese jewellery from the British Museum,
including historically important gold earrings, amulets and hair pins dating
between 700 and 1400 AD.

    Fortunately, the missing jewellery from the Egyptian Museum was located
after a three-month search, and the Supreme Council of Antiquities was able
to announce its success. But that still begs the question: what was each of
those bracelets worth? Turning again to the snake bracelet included in the
Bonhams sale, with its guarantee of protection, good health and fertility to
its anonymous owner, this was clearly a particularly fine piece (Published:
Christie's 1997, p 61, lot 210; Literature: Cf J Ogden 1992, pp 8-9). The
estimate in Bonhams catalogue was between ¨15,000 and ¨20,000. But when the
hammer finally came down, the bid was at ¨66,920. This result shows how some
especially worthwhile artefacts can change hands time and again -- often
commanding increasing prices.

    A 7.6cm long Horus Eye -- that most powerful of protective amulets --
rimmed with blue Egyptian glass and with a shell obsidian eye inlay complete
with blue glass eye-brow (ex-Christie's sale [lot 66] in 1998) was estimated
as between ¨4,000 and ¨5,000. The auctioneer finally brought down the hammer
at ¨6,573.

    Auction houses do not intentionally handle smuggled antiquities. But how
many items in their lots may in fact come from questionable sources? It is
hard to put a figure on it. Sometimes large collections arrive at auction
with a precise and accurate history. Other times, the only reference made is
to literature in which a "similar object" is described, or the museum in
which a "similar object" is displayed. No provenance. No acquisition data.

    It is a vicious circle. Not all the sites of new discoveries which make
the headlines are effectively guarded, despite assurances to the contrary.
Much publicity is given to the retrieval of Egyptian antiquities from
abroad, but steps to prevent the desecration of monuments in the first place
remain frankly less than adequate. Meanwhile, the promotion of Egypt's
heritage through exhibitions of unique and unparalleled objects abroad
successfully promotes a greater appreciation of the Ancient Egyptian culture
and encourages tourism, but it also stimulates market interest in Egyptian
antiquities, thus encouraging criminal elements to run the risks involved in
looting and smuggling, in the hope of ever more substantial rewards.

    There is a continual flow of Pharaonic slate palettes, pottery shards,
glazed figurines, bronze statuettes, Coptic stone carved heads and
tapestries, amulets and Graeco-Roman objects out of Egypt. Some of these
objects appear for auction on a regular basis. Last month's successful raid
by the antiquities police on the private dwelling of an antiquities dealer
in Badrashin (ancient Memphis), which resulted in the confiscation of what
the press described as a "horde of treasures, mostly Graeco- Roman", all
ready for shipment abroad, is proof that the business is thriving.

    For every thief caught in the act, one can only wonder how many
successful attempts at smuggling still go undetected.

    C a p t i o n : Two views of General Pkyr(er); Shell and obsidian eye
rimmed with blue glass cosmetic line and eyebrow; Romano-Egyptian gold snake
bracelet 

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