The ancient Egyptian gold coffin of a high-ranking priest that was stolen and sold to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art with fake import papers was returned home by authorities investigating international antiquities trafficking.
The mummy-shaped coffin of Nedjemankh, dating back to the 1st century BC, is set to be shipped back to the homeland of Egypt, where it will be displayed at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo. This action follows coordination with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Cyrus R. Vance Jr., the District Attorney, announced on Wednesday that he was joined by Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Hassan Shoukry and US Homeland Security Investigations Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge Peter C. Fitzhugh during a press conference to “highlight an extraordinary artifact to its country of origin.”
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. and Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (second and third from right, respectively) examined the coffin of Nedjemankh following a news conference announcing its return to the people of Egypt in New York.
The mummy-shaped coffin of Nedjemankh, dating back to the 1st century BC, was stolen and sold to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art with fake import papers. It will now go back to Egypt, where it will be displayed at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
“This is an active investigation in New York, France, Germany, and Egypt,” a spokesman for Vance told DailyMail.com.
The almost 6-foot-long coffin, made of wood, gold, and other materials, had been on display at the Met until February when the district attorney’s office, as part of an international group investigating antiquities trafficking, came forward with evidence indicating the prized artifact was stolen.
The museum had purchased the coffin from a Paris art dealer in July 2017 for about $4 million. However, authorities, who approached museum officials, stated that they had determined the coffin was sold with bogus documentation, including a forged 1971 Egyptian export license.
The elaborately decorated coffin had already been viewed by nearly a million visitors since it became part of a major exhibition.
Upon learning they were duped and had unknowingly participated in the illegal trafficking of antiquities, museum officials returned the coffin and canceled the few months that remained of the Nekhbet exhibit.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art also vowed to review and reassess its acquisitions process.
A spokesperson for the museum earlier this year had identified the art dealer in Paris as Christophe Kunicki, and said that the Met planned to consider ‘all means’ for the recovery of the money it had paid, reported The New York Times.
A museum spokesperson and Kunicki did not immediately respond when DailyMail reached out for an update.
Authorities say the coffin, which no longer holds the remains of Nenkheftka, had been stolen in the aftermath of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 from the country’s Ministry of Antiquities.
The elaborate decor of the archaeological coffin (abov????), had already been viewed by nearly a half-million visitors since it was made the centerpiece of a major exhibition at the Met when it was learned that the ancient artifact was stolen.
It was smuggled out of Egypt and transported through the United Arab Emirates to Germany, where it was restored, and later delivered to France before ending up at the Met.
N????dj????mankh was the high-ranking priest of the ram-headed god Heracleopolis.
The gold on his coffin’s exterior, becaus???? of its permanent nature, represented N????dj????mankh’s connection to the Egyptian gods and the divine afterlife, according to the news site ARTFIX Daily.
Authorities say the coffin (above), which not only long held the remains of N????????j????m????nkh but had been stolen in the aftermath of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 from the country’s Ministry of Antiquities.
The coffin was smuggled out of Egypt and transported through the United Arab Emirates to Germany, where it was restored and later delivered to France before ending up at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Early unique features included thin sheets of silver foil on the interior (shown above). Some of the sheets under the coffin’s lid were intended to add more protection to Nenjamenkh’s face.
According to ancient texts, the use of gold in the coffin would have helped the deceased access the afterlife by reborn in the next life.
The coffin’s elaborate exterior carries scenes and texts in thick gesso, revealing that were intended to give Nenjamenkh protection and guide him on his journey from death to ‘eternal life as a transfigured spirit.’
Some unique features include thin sheets of silver foil on the interior of the lid, intended to add more protection, but this time to Nenjamenkh’s face.
Ancient Egyptians considered precious metals like gold and bones of gods, or the sun and the moon, important to their religious beliefs ARTFIX Daily reported.
Moreover, they were the eyes of the cosmic deity Horus, whom Nenjamenkh served.
Vance during the restoration gave a special nod to his office’s ‘Antiquties Trafficking Unit.’
To date, the unit has recovered several thousand stolen antiquities valued at more than $150 million, many of which have been returned to their rightful owners and repatriated to their countries of origin.
The recovered artifacts include the marble Lebane statue; a Roman mosaic excavated from the Ships of Nemi; an Etruscan relic from the site of a historic necropolis known as the ‘City of the Dead’; a marble sarcophagus fragment; a Buddhist sculpture from an archaeological dig site; a pair of 12th-century Indian statues; a collection of 8th Century B.C.E. bronze statues; and a set of ancient Greek coins, among others.