Switzerland returns 3,000-year-old mask to Egypt

Switzerland returns a mask dating back almost 3,000 years to Egypt

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An Egyptian death mask dating from the second century BC has been returned from Switzerland to Egypt. It had been seized in Switzerland as part of criminal proceedings.

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September 15, 2026 – 17:08

Interior Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider presented an ancient burial mask to the Egyptian Ambassador on Tuesday. This handover, which took place during a ceremony at the Beatrice von Wattenwyl House in Bern, is intended to underline Switzerland’s commitment to combating the illegal transfer of cultural property, the Federal Office of Culture said.

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Swiss museums still hold various artworks looted from the African Kingdom of Benin a century ago. Nigeria is now looking to get them back.

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This is because evidence had been found to confirm that the import was illegal. On September 5, 2022, a haulage company had declared the mask when passing through customs at Bardonnex, canton Geneva. The authorities became suspicious and the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security blocked the import. On behalf of the Federal Office of Culture, which had been asked to carry out an assessment, an expert in Egyptology confirmed the mask’s authenticity.

A bilateral agreement with Egypt on the import, transit and return of cultural property has been in place since 2011. Over the past 15 years, Switzerland has returned around 80 cultural objects to Egypt.

Culture

Stolen stone slab to be returned to Egypt

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Nov 14, 2016

“During an inventory check of the Geneva free port at the end of 2014, the Federal Customs Administration identified … a granite relief of unknown origin and informed the Geneva public prosecutor, who opened a criminal inquiry,” the Geneva cantonal prosecutor said on Monday. After an examination by Philippe Collombert, professor of Egyptology at the…