Repatriation

When I discuss repatriation (the returning of artifacts to their home country) many people think that I believe that every Egyptian artifact belongs in Egypt, but that is not true. I have created this petition that you can sign so that unique objects and those that were taken out of Egypt illegally can be returned. The specific objects I am fighting for are The Rosetta Stone in the British Museum, the Dendera Zodiac in le Louvre, and the bust of Nefertiti in the Staatliche Museeen zu Berlin. These are unique artifacts with whose significance to Egyptian history have no parallel. Moreover, their removal from Egypt was done illicitly.

When artifacts are removed from Egypt illegally and sold this only encourages and emboldens thieves. I am sorry to say that museums that continue to display these artifacts and refuse to return them only continue to participate in imperialism and cannot be believed when they denounce it. For the Egyptian government to petition foreign governments for the return of the artifacts there has to be enough public interest, which is why I started this petition. I am so happy more than 200,000 people have already signed this petition. I ask for you to sign this and share it with everyone you know. I would like to get one million signatures so we can formally petition for the return of these artifacts. We need your help. 

Petition for the Repatriation of the Bust of Nefertiti

I am writing on behalf of Egyptians – and everyone who is strongly advocating for Egypt’s heritage to be restored to its home – to submit a request for the repatriation of the painted limestone bust of Nefertiti, accessioned in the Neues Museum as Inventory No. AM 21300.

This bust, remarkable and unrivaled in history for its historical and aesthetic merit, is now in Germany, but it is time for it to come home to Egypt.

An unjustified extraction

For years, Egypt has been deprived of many of its most significant ancient Egyptian artifacts – one of which is the Dynasty 18 bust, which has never failed to gather innumerable visitors to Berlin’s famed Neues museum. Despite many ignored calls for meaningful dialogue as well as requests for acknowledgment of how this unique artifact ended up in Germany, this petition today is meant to re-ignite that conversation, inspire the return of the bust to Cairo, and elicit a dignified response from German authorities.

For the last twenty years, Egypt’s repatriation efforts have been commendable. From as far as the USA to as close as Europe, Egyptian authorities, with the help of international policing and diplomatic bodies, have retrieved and repatriated thousands of artifacts taken out of the country illegally. This request, therefore, is a logical outcome of our nation's longstanding policy of demanding the return of any historical and archaeological artefacts that have been unlawfully removed from the nation, particularly those that are thought to be unique.

Regarding the particular instance of the bust, contemporaneous and subsequent records documenting the excavation and distribution of finds of the collection of artefacts comprising the bust of Nefertiti verify that the bust was removed from Egypt against the letter and the spirit of the Egyptian laws in effect at the time. Since the first full publication of the Nefertiti bust, which did not appear until over a decade after its discovery in 1912 by Ludwig Borchardt, Egypt has made a number of attempts to repatriate this priceless sculpture.

Bring the Queen’s bust home

While Nefertiti has been a wondrous ‘’ambassador of Egypt to Germany” for the last decade, her symbolic and cultural diplomacy is not bound to her physical presence at the Neues Museum. Even with her restitution to Egypt, travelers from far and wide, including German citizens and scholars, will remain more than welcome to study and visit her. Considering her bust is one of value that tells the story of our common humanity, similar to the iconic mask of King Tutankhamun, that story can be told from its origin country, where more than a billion tourists visit Egypt and witness historical evolution at its finest.

Moreover, in terms of legal frameworks, article 13(b) of the UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (1970) calls on all states party to the convention – ratified by Germany in 2007 and accepted by Egypt in 1973 – to “ensure that their competent services cooperate in facilitating the earliest possible restitution of illicitly exported cultural property to its rightful owner”. This convention was further amplified by the “Plea for the return of an irreplaceable cultural heritage to those who created it” by Mr. Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow, former Director-General of UNESCO, in 1978. It calls upon “those responsible for preserving and restoring works of art to facilitate, by their advice and actions, the return of such works to the countries where they were created.” Rightfully, the plea also underscores a “return of at least the art treasures which best represent their culture.”

Egypt has been deprived of the bust for 102 years. It was never granted back to Egypt, even on loan, even as it changed homes in Germany, and despite the context of two world wars. Nonetheless, Egypt deeply appreciates the care and efforts undertaken by the government of Germany to preserve and display the 3,400-year-old painted limestone bust of the Queen. Inspired by the long-standing and amicable relations between our two governments, the Egyptian government is confident that the German authorities will assist in facilitating its return.

We sincerely hope that we will soon receive a positive response, which will be greatly appreciated by the government and the people of Egypt. We accordingly ask the German culture minister, the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, and the Neues Museum administration to heed this petition and respond to the request.

The government, the people of Egypt, and worldwide citizens are eager for this unique treasure to be returned to the possession of its rightful owners, the Egyptian people. Consequently, we are calling on the international community to demand the repatriation of this bust with us. The world knows that this remarkable artifact belongs in one of Egypt’s museums, where it will be splendidly taken care of.

With countless countries demanding their cultural heritage to be repatriated, Egypt is no exception and no less deserving. The signatories of this petition support the abovementioned request for repatriation.