A 3,000-year old stone sculpture of the Egyptian god Amen,which Cairo claims that it had been stolen, went under the hammer for nearly Rs41 crore at Christie’s London.
The brown quartzite head achieved 4,746,250 pounds at theauction on Thursday, Christie’s said in a statement.
Egypt has earlier demanded the bust’s auction to be stopped.The 28-cm high sculpture carries facial features of King Tutankhamun, one ofthe most famous Egyptian Pharaohs, who reigned between 1333 BC and 1323 BC.
The auction had dismissed these concerns, saying the busthad previously been on public exhibition without objection. “The object isnot, and has not been, the subject of an investigation,” it said in astatement.
On Thursday, Christie’s Head of Antiquities LaetitiaDelaloye said that the result was a “testimony to the rarity, beauty andimportance of the work”.
“We recognise that historic objects can raise complexdiscussions about the past, yet our role today is to work to continue toprovide a transparent, legitimate marketplace upholding the highest standardsfor the transfer of objects.
“There is an honourable market for ancient art and webelieve it is in the public interest that works come out into the open with theopportunity for them to be researched, as well as seen and enjoyed by globalaudiences,” Delaloye said.
The bust was part of a statue of Amen – a revered deity ofthe Egyptian empire – and was one of the devices used to “align the rulingking with deities”, as per the auction house.
“The facial features – full mouth with slightlydrooping lower lips, and almond-shaped slanted eyes with a deep depressionbetween eyes and eyebrows – are those of Tutankhamen.
“Similar representations of God Amen also with facialfeatures of the young king were carved for the temple of Karnak in Egypt, aspart of the royal restoration program,” Christie’s had said earlier.
Former Egyptian Minister of State for Antiquities AffairsZahi Hawass has called the sale a dark chapter in Christie’s history.