Against the backdrop of the recent opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, the Netherlands has announced plans to return a 3,500-year-old sculpted stone head to Egypt, marking another milestone in Europe’s growing efforts to repatriate looted artefacts to their countries of origin.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof made the commitment during an official visit to Cairo, where he met with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and attended the inauguration of the new museum.
According to the Dutch Information & Heritage Inspectorate, the ancient sculpture, believed to depict a high-ranking official from the reign of Pharaoh Thutmose III (1479–1425 BC) was “highly likely” stolen during Egypt’s 2011–2012 Arab Spring unrest before being smuggled onto the international art market.
The artefact resurfaced a decade later at an antiques fair in Maastricht, where an anonymous tip prompted an investigation confirming its illegal export. It was later confiscated and voluntarily surrendered by the dealer.
Return to Egypt
The return comes as Egypt celebrates the long-awaited opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, a $1.2 billion architectural landmark near the Pyramids of Giza, first proposed in 1992.
The museum houses more than 100,000 artefacts, including the full contents of Tutankhamun’s tomb and his world-famous gold mask.
Egyptian officials hope the museum will strengthen their case for the repatriation of major cultural treasures still held abroad, including the Rosetta Stone, currently on display at the British Museum in London.
A Wider European Shift
The decision aligns with a wider European shift toward addressing historical injustices related to colonial and wartime looting.
In 2020, the Netherlands returned a 600-year-old Nigerian artefact that had been smuggled out of the country in 2019, after Nigeria successfully proved its ownership.
By early 2025, the Dutch government announced plans to repatriate 113 Benin Bronzes currently housed at the Wereldmuseum in Leiden.
The artefacts, looted by British troops during the 1897 Benin Expedition and later scattered across Europe, are still awaiting formal return.
Germany, meanwhile, has accelerated its own restitution programme, recently repatriating artefacts to Cameroon, Namibia, and Tanzania.
France and Germany jointly launched a €2.1 million fund in 2024 to support provenance research for African collections held in their national museums.
Elsewhere, Finland returned a 17th-century royal stool to Benin in May 2025, one of the most recent symbolic restitutions on the continent.
WHAT IS MEANS FOR EGYPT
For Egypt, the upcoming handover adds momentum to a years-long campaign to reclaim artefacts scattered across Western museums.
The Grand Egyptian Museum’s launch, delayed multiple times since its proposal in 1992 has revived calls for restitution from both state officials and Egyptologists who view these recoveries as crucial to restoring national pride.
As more governments acknowledge the complex legacies of colonialism and looting, Egypt’s success could inspire other African nations to intensify their demands for restitution.
For the Netherlands and its European peers, the return of this ancient Egyptian head marks more than the end of an investigation, it marks a beginning: a step toward reconciling the past with a more equitable global cultural future.
