The Netherlands returned the stolen sculpture 3.5 thousand years old to Egypt.

The Netherlands returned a 3,500-year-old sculpture to Egypt after the stolen artifact was found at an art fair held in the city of Maastricht in 2022. This was reported by the Reuters news agency on February 6.

"An investigation conducted by the Dutch police and the Cultural Heritage Protection Inspectorate in 2025 confirmed that the sculpture was stolen and illegally exported from Egypt, most likely during the Arab Spring riots of 2011, before appearing on the international art market," the material says.

It is noted that the returned object turned out to be a stone head, which was originally part of a statue of a high-ranking official from the time of Pharaoh Thutmose III (1479-1425 BC). The object came to the country from the south of Egypt from the city of Luxor.

The Daily Mail (DM) magazine reported on December 5, 2025, that archaeologists had discovered a rare collection of funerary figurines in Tanis, Egypt, which made it possible to identify the empty royal tomb of Pharaoh Sheshonku III. It was noted that the find was striking, as the ruler's name had previously been found on the walls of another tomb in the same complex.

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