photo: www.stanford.edu EGYPT’S TREASURE HUNT Egypt will ask museums abroad to temporarily send back artifacts CAIRO, Egypt - Egypt said Sunday can be exhibited either at the 2011 “We have never received a written Neumann, Germany’s minister for it would seek the temporary return opening of the Egyptian Museum, request to loan the Rosetta Stone,” culture, said the Nefertiti would not of some of its most precious artifacts near the site of the Great Pyramids at British Museum spokeswoman Han- be made available for loan, due to its from museums abroad, including the Giza, or the Atum museum, which is nah Boulton said Sunday. “If one was very fragile state. Rosetta Stone and a bust of Nefertiti. set to open in the Nile Delta city of put in, we would consider it.” The other artifacts Hawass would The country’s chief archaeologist, Meniya in 2010, the Supreme Council The museum has been willing to like to see put on display in Egypt Zahi Hawass, said the Foreign Min- of Antiquities said in a statement. loan artifacts to countries that recog- are the Dendera Zodiac ceiling paint- istry would send letters this week to Egypt said it would request the nize its legal ownership of the items. ing from the Dendera Temple, now France, Germany, the United States loans from the British Museum, Paris’ But in 2003, the museum said in a housed in the Louvre; the statute of and Great Britain requesting that the Louvre, Boston’s Museum of Fine statement “to loan such pieces would Hemiunu _ the nephew and vizier of ancient artifacts be loaned to Egypt. Arts and two German museums. result in our disappointing the 5 mil- Pharaoh Khufu, builder of the Great Hawass has previously demanded The Rosetta Stone, a 1,680 pound lion or so visitors who come to the pyramid _ in Germany’s Roemer- the permanent return of many of the slab of black basalt with a triple in- museum every year.” Pelizaeu museum; and the bust of An- artifacts, claiming some of them were scription, was the key to deciphering Germany has been balking at re- chhaf, builder of the Chephren Pyra- taken illegally. ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. It is quests to loan the 3,000-year-old bust mid, now at the Museum of Fine Arts This time, the country is request- one of the centerpieces of the British of Nefertiti from Berlin’s Egyptian in Boston. ing museums loan the artifacts so they Museum. Museum. Earlier this month, Bernd “The artifacts belong to everyone, and their return is of the utmost importance, because the past is our future.” - Zahi Hawass Head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities Egyptian Artifacts Across the World BUST OF ANCHAF ROSETTA STONE (circa 2520-2494 BC) (circa 196 BC) The bust of Anchaf is a rare This piece is an Ancient piece of art because sculp- Egyptian artifact which was tures portraying true like- instrumental in advancing nesses of people are unusual modern understanding of in Ancient Egyptian art. hieroglyphic writing. Current Location: Muse- Current Location: British um of Fine Arts in Boston Museum Boston, Mass. USA London, England UK KING TUT’S COFFIN NEFERTITI (circa 1346 BC) (circa 1350 BC) Discovered in 1922, King Tu- Nefertiti’s bust is notable tankhanan’s coffin is made for exemplifying the under- out of pure gold. The coffin standing Ancient Egyptians is said to be over 3,000 years had regarding realistic facial old. proportions. Current Location: Dallas Current Location: Berlin’s Museum of Art Egyptian Mueum Dallas, Texas USA Berlin, Germany EU DENDERA ZODIAC STATUE OF HEMIUNU (circa 1500 BC) (circa 2540 BC) Discovered in the Den- The limestone statue with traces of paint from Egypt’s dera Temple, it contains Old Kingdom period, depicts images of Taurus and the portly nephew and vizier Libra. of Pharaoh Khufu. Current Location: The Current Location: Pelizaeus Louvre Museum Paris, France UK Hildesheim, Germany EU.