Egypt to retrieve 19th-dynasty statue from Netherlands

Egypt State Information Service

Discovered in Saqara in 1985, stolen then auctioned, Ushabti - an ancient funerary statue - could finally go home to Egypt where it belongs.

Dating back to the 19th Dynasty, Ushabti was identified when a collector - who had bought the statue, having no background about the heist - showed it to experts at a Lyden museum in 2006.

It was only then that the amateur collector knew what he had had in possession; an 8.8cm statue of a woman made of pottery that was unearthed some 27 years ago, except that it has never been on display at any museum. All parties concerned agreed that they should return the piece to Egypt.

Dutch authorities have delivered Ushabti to representatives of the Egyptian government in order to take it back home, an Egyptian Embassy statement said Tuesday 22/7/2008.