Illustration: Xia Qing/GT

Editor's Note:

Calls from non-Western countries for the return of objects stolen during the colonial period have intensified in recent years. Dr. Zahi Hawass (Hawass), a well-known Egyptian archaeologist and former minister of tourism and antiquities of Egypt, recently launched a petition demanding the repatriation of the iconic 3,400-year-old Bust of Nefertiti to Egypt, which is currently housed in the Neues Museum in Berlin, Germany. The petition also calls for the return of the Rosetta Stone, now in the British Museum, and the Dendera Zodiac in the Louvre in Paris. "If we meet any resistance from these governments, it will be a real shame," said Hawass in an interview with Global Times (GT) reporter Wang Wenwen in her Insight Talk program. He shared his views on the significance of this movement and the trend of non-Western countries calling for the return of looted artifacts.

GT: In Egypt, there have been long-running campaigns to reclaim the country's historical artifacts. What prompted you to launch the petition for the return of the three antiques from Germany, the UK and France? What is the significance of this move?
Hawass: When I was the secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in 2010, I wrote a letter to Germany asking for the return of the Bust of Nefertiti. But Germany wrote back to me saying that they need the letter to be signed by the minister. Then, I became a minister, but Egypt could not let me do anything for Nefertiti. Recently, I found out that there is an awakening among the people in Europe about the stolen artifacts from Africa. And even (French) President Emmanuel Macron said we have to return these artifacts and that's why I thought this petition would have strong support from the people. I have been really trying to get 1 million people to sign the petition. 
As soon as I get 1 million signatures, I will ask for the return of the Bust of Nefertiti from Berlin, the Rosetta Stone from the British Museum and the Dendera Zodiac from the Louvre. Each piece has a story. The Bust of Nefertiti was taken out of Egypt in 1913 by [German archaeologist Ludwig] Borchardt. The Rosetta Stone was taken by the French and given to the British. How can you give a gift to someone that is not yours? The Dendera Zodiac was taken out of the ceiling of the Temple of Hathor in Dendera. We have the evidence that the three pieces left Egypt illegally.
Our president in Egypt is supporting this campaign. These pieces are icons of our Egyptian identity. It is because of the Rosetta Stone that we were able to understand the Egyptian language. The Dendera Zodiac is very important. The Bust of Nefertiti is our most important piece of art, and its home is Egypt, not Germany.

GT: Do you think the three Western countries will return the antiques? What obstacles do you foresee?
Hawass: I really think that a popular campaign that comes from the people will be stronger than a government campaign. Many people from Germany, Britain and France are funding this campaign. And this is why I think that this campaign is going to be very successful soon. 
I am putting this on the internet for people to sign. I'm talking in the press everywhere, telling people that this is very important. This is part of our heritage. I ask the Egyptians to sign the petition because this will show the Egyptian people care about their monuments and their heritage.
I am sure I will face resistance from the governments of the three European countries, but if we meet any significant resistance from these governments, it will be a real shame. Every museum has thousands of Egyptian artifacts. I'm not asking for these artifacts to come back. I'm asking for only three pieces to be returned because their home should be the Grand Egyptian Museum and not the museum in Berlin or the British Museum or the Louvre. So I'm waiting for 1 million signatures. Then, I will officially ask for these artifacts to be returned, as this petition will represent a demand among the Egyptians and many other people.

GT: Why is it so difficult to reclaim the antiques? Is colonial superiority part of the reason?
Hawass: It is. All these objects were stolen during imperialism. Even your heritage, Chinese artifacts, are shown in museums everywhere. I really think this is not fair that the heritage of China and Egypt and others could be shown in these museums, and most of them were taken illegally from these countries.
During imperialism when the British and the French conquered Egypt, they took our heritage by force, and museums until today practice imperialism by buying stolen artifacts. When museums buy stolen artifacts, they ruin the heritage of countries like Egypt. They encourage thieves to go and steal artifacts because museums pay a lot of money for them. I think it's time that these museums stop imperialism.

GT: There have been repeated calls in China for the British Museum to return collections of Chinese antiquities. A Nigerian man has launched a project to reclaim African artifacts stolen by European colonizers. How do you see this trend? How can these countries collaborate?
Hawass: I'm really happy to see this action is happening now, because I think the world is waking up to the fact that most of the artifacts have been stolen from our countries. Countries that have had artifacts stolen should cooperate and hold a conference for these artifacts to be returned. I want to do that next year, and China and Egypt can work together on that conference where we all can be united.


Instances of Global antiquities reparation

In May, 2024, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York returned two ancient artifacts to Thailand: a bronze sculpture of Shiva known as Standing Shiva, also referred to as Golden Boy, and a smaller sculpture called Kneeling Female.

According to a Turkish media report in April, 2024, Turkish authorities have orchestrated the return of 12,135 smuggled historical artifacts over the past 22 years, with the country gearing up to welcome back more than 8,600 cultural treasures. Later that month, France returned more than 8,500 ancient coins to Turkey. These coins had been seized from a private individual in central France, as it was found that he had illegally imported them.

In April, 2024, 38 artifacts were returned by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office to China, as China's relentless quest to retrieve lost cultural relics from overseas has received a significant boost.

In August, 2023, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand formally asked the Denver Art Museum in Colorado to return eight pieces that were looted from temples and historical sites.

In May, 2022, a Nigerian man, Chidi Nwaubani, launched a project called "Looty" to reclaim African artifacts stolen by European colonizers by creating 3D images of them, selling them as non-fungible tokens and using the proceeds to fund young African artists.

In April, 2022, a French private collector handed over an ancient Mayan stela after the artifact was flagged by Guatemalan authorities in 2019 as being a piece that disappeared from Piedras Negras, an archeological site in the country's northwest, in the 1960s.

In January, 2009, Zahi Hawass, an Egyptian archeologist and former minister, formally asked Sweden for the return of 212 artifacts taken out of Egypt by a Swedish collector in the mid-1920s.