Monday 12 October 2009

Hawass asks for loan of Rosetta Stone

The Daily Telegraph has a short interview with Zahi Hawass in the wake of the announcement that the Louvre would be returning tomb fragments to Egypt (Samer al-Atrush, "Egypt asks British Museum for the Rosetta Stone after Louvre victory, Daily Telegraph October 10, 2009). Hawass would like the British Museum to loan the Rosetta Stone to Egypt. The Telegraph added "[Hawass] promised to return the relic after Egypt's Grand Museum opens in 2013".

Hawass is quoted:
I am not asking for all the objects in the British Museum to come back, only for the unique objects to come back to Egypt.
What is meant by unique? Are they the culturally significant pieces?


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1 comment:

Krystal D'Costa said...

I have been following Hawass' career with some interest since he was appointed Secretary General in the early part of the decade. His persistent demands for the return of Egyptian antiquities has me wondering at the quote you published—and the word "unique." Has he rethought his position on reclaiming Egyptian antiquities—probably not; it really could not be as black and white as this. Still, it seems a distinction is being made between lesser and greater cultural works and a concession of some sort has been made.

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