After almost four decades in the possession of a Brazilian citizen, a limestone Roman head of an as yet unidentified nobleman is on its way back to its Egyptian homeland. The head is very well preserved, and depicts the facial features of a Roman nobleman with short wavy hair.

Osama El-Nahas, director general of the Department of Repatriation of Antiquities at the Ministry of State for Antiquities (MSA) told Ahram Online that the story started late last year when a young Brazilian lady, who requested anonymity, called the Egyptian embassy in Brazil.

She told them that she wanted to hand over a Roman sculpture that she had inherited from her father. In 1976, her father had bought the head from an Egyptian man who claimed he was the curator of one of Egypt's museums.

El-Nahas said that the head continued to be in the possession of the Brazilian man until last year, when he decided to hand it back to Egypt. The man passed away before he was able to return the artifact, but his daughter decided to fulfill his wishes and contacted the embassy.

The Roman head is to return home within two weeks, where it will be examined for possible restoration and to find out more details about its original location.

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