The Brussels Public Prosecutor's Office returned two Egyptian artefacts seized in Brussels in 2015 to Egypt on Friday, in the cloister of the Royal Museums of Art and History at the Cinquantenaire Park.
The restitution of the artefacts to the Egyptian authorities is the culmination of "a long and complex legal process," according to a press release by the Brussels' Public Prosecutor's Office. It was started following an international letter of request issued by the Attorney General of Cairo, which led to a ruling by the Court of Cassation on 9 April 2025.
The most eye-catching piece, due to its size and rich decoration, is a wooden sarcophagus dating from the Ptolemaic period (around the 4th-3rd centuries BC). The other artefact is a piece of wooden beard.
The sarcophagus is anthropomorphic in shape, in the image of the deceased mummified male who was placed inside it. The golden face and bluish hair are divine attributes, signifying that the deceased had been transformed into a manifestation of the god Osiris, ruler of the underworld.
Credit: The Brussels Times
In 2015, the items were seized by the local Brussels-Capitale/Ixelles police zone, following an INTERPOL alert. On Friday, they were given back to the Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Belgium, H.E. Mr Ahmed Abu Zeid.
"After 10 years of investigation and proceedings, it is a true act of justice to return an item that was misappropriated from its heritage to its country of origin," said Julien Moinil, the Brussels Public Prosecutor.
The Brussels Public Prosecutor's Office – International and European Affairs Division – was responsible for enforcing this decision.
To ensure their optimal conservation, the pieces have been exceptionally kept in the reserves of the Egyptology section of the Royal Museums of Art and History at the Cinquantenaire in Brussels for the duration of the proceedings.
The sarcophagus "undoubtedly" belonged to a member of Egyptian high society, according to the Public Prosecutor's Office. "The choice of materials and the meticulous execution bear witness to exceptional craftsmanship. There are inlays of coloured glass in the eyes and pectoral, gilded elements and finely chiselled wooden engravings."
The deciphering of the hieroglyphics on the sarcophagus has also made it possible to identify the person it housed: a man named Pa-di-Hor-pa-khered (pꜣ-di ḥr pꜣ-ẖrd), which means "He who was given by Harpokrates”.
Credit: The Brussels Public Prosecutor's Office
Due to his nature and rank, he was handed over with respect and dignity. The cloister in the Cinquantenaire Park, whose walls feature medieval tombstones, lent a special touch to this event, which brought together two different burial cultures.
Following the ceremony, the pieces will be repatriated to Egypt in a diplomatic case.
This restitution follows that of a statue of a walking man and an ushabti (an ancient Egyptian funerary figurine), organised in connection with the same case in September 2021.
