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 The more than 3,000-year-old sculpture, on display at Christie's
London auction house, shows the boy king taking the form of the
ancient Egyptian god Amen.
Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of
Antiquities, told Reuters he was disappointed the sale was going
ahead, despite requests for information and protests from
government officials and Egypt's embassy in London.
"I believe that it was taken out of Egypt illegally ... They
have not presented any documents to prove otherwise," Waziri
said.
"We aren't going to stop, we are going to keep following these
guys, even the (buyer). We are going to keep asking again and
again (for it to be returned)," he added.
Staff at Christie's said they had taken the necessary steps to
prove its provenance and the sale was legitimate.
"It's a very well known piece ... and it has never been the
subject of a claim," Laetitia Delaloye, head of the antiquities
department at Christie's, told Reuters. "We would never offer a
piece where there is any concern about the provenance."
The 28.5 centimeters (11.22 inches) high piece was in
"extraordinary condition", she said, with just the ears and nose
damaged. It is seen selling for more than £4 million, plus
commission, with a collector the most likely buyer.
The head is being sold from the private Resandro collection of
Egyptian art.
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Christie's says the head was acquired from Munich-based dealer Heinz
Herzer in 1985. Before that, Austrian dealer Joseph Messina bought
in 1973-1974. It says Prinz Wilhelm Von Thurn und Taxis "reputedly"
had it in his collection by the 1960s.
"Historical objects by their nature, it's impossible to track them
back over the millennia of their existence, so what we endeavor to
do is to research their modern history," Delaloye said.
Christie's had been in touch with Egyptian authorities in Cairo and
the London embassy, she added.
Egypt has long demanded the return of artefacts taken by
archaeologists and imperial adventurers, including the Rosetta Stone
kept in the British Museum - campaigns paralleled by Greece's
demands for the Parthenon sculptures, Nigeria’s for the Benin
Bronzes and Ethiopia for the Magdala treasures.
(Reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Additional reporting by Aidan
Lewis and Mostafa Salem in Cairo; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
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