Recovered Antiquities, London: Egypt Recovers Islamic Manuscript Spotted in Bonhams Auction

A rare Islamic manuscript consigned to a Bonhams auction in London has been returned to Egypt in the latest example of Egyptian authorities succeeding in retrieving artefacts from abroad.

The manuscript titled Summary of the science of history by Mohammed bin Sulaiman Masood Al Kafiji, known as Mohiuddin Al Kafiji, was formerly in the collection of the Egyptian National Library and Archives but disappeared in the 1970s. Dating from the 14th century, it is considered an important and early study in historical theory. Al Kafiji was born in modern-day Iran but is thought to have travelled to Jerusalem and then to Cairo.

The Egyptian National Library and Archives reportedly spotted the manuscript online in a sale taking place in April. Contacting Bonhams through Egypt’s embassy in London, the library was able to show documents to prove it was the same manuscript that had previously been in its possession. After talks with the vendor, a deal was secured to ensure the safe return of the item to the Cairo library, with the auction house handing over the manuscript to the library last month.

In a press conference earlier this week to announce the return of the manuscript, Egypt’s Minister of Culture Inas Abdel-Dayem thanked Bonhams for agreeing to help in the negotiations with the manuscript’s owner. While Bonhams would not reveal anything about how the vendor had acquired it or what level it had been estimated, a spokesman for the auctioneers said: “Bonhams was delighted to be of assistance in helping the owner restore this important manuscript to its rightful home.”

Further recoveries

Since June, Egyptian authorities have also succeeding in retrieving ancient Egyptian artefacts from both France and Italy. In a separate development, the Thai embassy in Washington, DC recently secured the return of a group of a dozen ancient artefacts from a private American collector. The items relate to the prehistoric civilization in Thailand's northeastern province of Udon Thani. Thai culture minister Vira Rojpojchanarat said the country has been gathering evidence to make claims over other items, including works in a number of US museums.

Source: Antiques Trade Gazette

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New Discovery, Minya: Burial Chambers of Two Middle Kingdom Officials Discovered

An Egyptian-Australian mission from Maquarie University has accidently uncovered early this month the burial chambers of Rimushenty and Baqet II, who were top officials during ancient Egypt's Middle Kingdom and rulers of the country's 16th Nome. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref

The discovery was made while the team was carrying out cleaning work inside a tomb at the Beni Hassan necropolis in Minya governorate. No mummies or sarcophagi were found in the burial chambers.

Ayman Ashmawi, head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Department at the Ministry of Antiquities, said that Rimushenty's burial chamber was found at the bottom of a three-metre-deep shaft.

Ashmawi told Ahram Online that no funerary collection was found inside the main burial chamber, explaining that the collection "was probably removed by British Egyptologist Percy E. Newberry, who worked in Beni Hassan necropolis between 1893 and 1900." Ashmawi said that the burial chamber has an empty rectangular space that likely once housed the now-missing sarcophagus. 

A collection of clay food containers was also found in two side burial chambers located to the east and west of the main chamber.

Gamal El-Semestawi, General Director of Middle Egypt Antiquities, said that Baqet II's burial chamber has the same design as Ramushenty chamber. El-Semestawi added that the walls of the main chamber are painted with well-preserved coloured scenes dedicated to Baqet II. A collection of clay vessels was also found in the chamber.

Egyptologist Naguib Kanawati, the head of the mission, said that the team will resume its work in January to clean, restore and study the wall paintings as well as inspect the shaft and burial chambers as the first step towards scientific publication. The mission has been working in Beni Hassan necropolis since 2009.

 Source: Ahram Online

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News, Giza: Red Granite Head of King Senusret I Arrives at the Grand Egyptian Museum

The head of a statue of King Senusret I arrived safely at the Grand Egyptian Museum for restoration. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) received a red granite head Friday from a statue of King Senusret I from the antiquities ministry storage galleries in the Cairo Citadel. The transportation came within the framework of the Ministry of Antiquities’ mission to prepare for the museum’s grand opening, which is scheduled for the first quarter of 2019.

GEM’s general supervisor, Tarek Tawfik, explained that the head is carved from red granite and has the common artistic features found in pieces attributed to the Middle Kingdom. 

The head, which was discovered in 2005 in Souq Al-Khamis at the Matriya archaeological site in 2005 by an Egyptian-German mission, portrays the facial features of King Senusret I wearing a partial headdress.

The statue’s royal beard, which was discovered separated 10 metres away from the corresponding head in 2008, was also transported to the museum. The head, according to Ayman Ashmawy, the head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Section who discovered the artifact in 2005, measures 122 cm x 108cm x 75cm and weighs roughly two tons.

Eissa Zidan, general director of the First Aid Restoration Department at the GEM, said Friday that the restoration team and archaeologists used the latest technology in the packing and transportation of the head and beard, which required wooden beams to settle the objects onto a hydraulic crane for lifting.

The head and beard are now at the GEM conservation centre for restoration, study, examination, analysis and documentation, while a three-dimensional imaging technique will be used to illustrate the suggested methods to re-attach the head to the beard.

Source: Ahram Online

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