The return debate often turns on law: what the law said when an object left Egypt. Here are the main laws, Egyptian and international, and when they apply.
Key idea
Egypt's Law 117 of 1983 on the protection of antiquities makes antiquities public property, bans trade in them, and forbids private possession except for holdings registered under the law. Internationally, the 1970 UNESCO Convention commits the states that join it to prevent the illicit import, export and transfer of cultural property. Egypt joined in 1973.
Why it works
A law usually applies from the day it takes effect, not before. So the same kind of object can be legal or illegal depending on when it left: a statue exported with a permit in 1920 is not stolen under Law 117, while one smuggled out in 2011 is. That is why museums today ask for an object's history ("provenance") back to 1970 or earlier: that date has become the main test of whether an object entered the market legally.
| Year | Law or agreement | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| 1835 | Decree of Muhammad Ali | banned the export of antiquities and planned a museum; weakly enforced |
| 1858 | Antiquities Service (Mariette) | state control of excavation; finds divided with foreign excavators |
| 1970 | UNESCO Convention | states agree to prevent illicit trade and help each other recover stolen cultural property; it does not reach back to earlier removals |
| 1973 | Egypt joins the Convention | Egypt becomes a state party |
| 1983 | Law 117 (amended in 2010) | antiquities are public property; trade banned; export banned; possession only of registered holdings |
Worked example: Before or after?
A coffin left Egypt with a valid export permit in 1925. Another was dug up illegally and smuggled out in 2012. How do the laws apply?
- In 1925 export with a permit was legal, and neither Law 117 nor the 1970 Convention existed. The first coffin is not stolen property, whatever one thinks of the system.
- In 2012 Law 117 made the coffin state property and banned its export; Egypt and most market countries were parties to the 1970 Convention. The second coffin is stolen property.
- Same kind of object, different law: the date of export decides.
Answer: The first left legally; the second is stolen under Law 117.
Worked example: Foreign courts
In 2002 a New York antiquities dealer was convicted in a U.S. court of dealing in objects smuggled out of Egypt. Why did Egypt's Law 117 matter in an American court?
- U.S. law forbids dealing in stolen property.
- The court accepted that Law 117 makes Egypt the owner of antiquities found after 1983, so objects taken without permission were stolen.
- A country's ownership law can therefore protect its antiquities abroad.
Answer: It made the objects Egypt's property, so dealing in them was dealing in stolen goods.
Common mistake
Thinking old finds and new finds are treated the same. Laws apply differently to objects that left before and after them. Always ask: when did this object leave Egypt, and what was the law then?