After a year of legal and diplomatic negotiations, Egypt is to receive Tuesday a collection of 15 ancient Egyptian objects from London.

Ali Ahmed, head of the Antiquities Recuperation Section of the antiquities ministry said that these objects were monitored last year by the section as they were on the selling lists of Christie’s and Bonham's auction halls in London.

After examining the photos of these objects and comparing them with the ministry’s registry, archaeologists of the Recuperation Section approved their authenticity. All legal procedures were then taken immediately to stop their sale and remove them from auction halls. 

Red Granite engraving

Ahmed told Ahram Online that the objects include a red granite engraving depicting a captive that was a part of king Amenhotep III's statue found at his funerary temple at Kom Al-Hittan on Luxor's west bank as well as a collection of limestone women busts from the New and Middle Kingdoms. A New Kingdom painted limestone of a cobra head is also among the recovered items as well as six amulets depicting different ancient Egyptian deities.

Two painted cartonnages, which were stolen from the storage of the French archaeological mission of the Louvre at Saqqara during the lack of security that overwhelmed the country in the aftermath of the January 2011 Revolution are also among the recovered objects. A human-shaped piece of glaze dated to the Greco-Roman era stolen from the archaeological galleries at Al-Qantara East area was also recovered.

Upon its receipt, the items will be sent to the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir where they will be subject to restoration before being shown in a temporary exhibition at the museum.

Human-shaped glaze piece