News, Cairo: Ottoman-Era Artifacts Seized at Cairo Airport to Go to Museum of Islamic Art

The pieces include Coptic textiles, a collection of headdresses decorated with Arabic calligraphy, and Ottomman-era manuscripts and medallions. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

On Wednesday the Museum of Islamic Art will receive a collection of Ottoman-era Egyptian artefacts that were seized early this week at Cairo International Airport.

The objects were in the possession of a passenger who was trying to smuggle them to Istanbul.

Upon confiscation, an archaeological committee led by Hamdi Hamam, the director-general of the antiquities unit at the centre, approved the authenticity of the objects.

The pieces include 34 Coptic textiles decorated with foliage ornamentation in a bad conservation condition, a collection of headdresses decorated with Arabic calligraphy, and three 18th and 19th century manuscripts.

A round Ottoman tapestry woven in red velvet is also among the seized collection, as is a collection of Ottoman medallions and manuscripts.

Mamdouh Osman, the museum director, said that the objects would be restored and put on special display at the museum.

Source: Ahram Online