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Cairo (dpa) - Egypt's Culture Minister Farouq Hosni announced on Monday that an ancient Egyptian artifact was recovered shortly before its sale at Christie's Auction Hall in New York.
The Secretary General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawwas, explained that the artifact in question is a duck-shaped alabaster vessel dating back to the 12th dynasty of Egypt's Middle Kingdom. The vessel was created during the reign of King Amenemhat III.
It was discovered by a German team affiliated to the German Archaeological Institute in Egypt during the team's excavations in the area of Dahshur.
The vessel was stolen, however, from its Saqqara storage place in 1970.
The vessel's whereabouts were unknown until it was found on Christie's online auction list.
After learning of its location the Supreme Council of Antiquities contacted Christie's gallery, which immediately agreed to return the artifact to Egypt.
The council has not had the same luck with the St Louis Art Museum in Missouri, which has refused to return the stolen mummy mask of Ka- Nefer-Nefer despite several appeals to the museum and to the US Department of State.
Copyright 2006 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
