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Cairo - Berlin: Claims and responses
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This overview shows, in chronological order, the ascertained requests and responses between Cairo and Berlin, voiced between 1924 and 2007.
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Cairo |
Berlin
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1924 |
1924 |
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Cairo learns about the existence of the bust, reacts amazed and outraged and demands the immediate return of the bust. |
10 years after its arrival, the bust is being presented to the public in Berlin.
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1925 |
1925 |
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Cairo tries to initiate bilateral talks and suggests the installation of a court of arbitration to handle the problem. |
Berlin insists on its legal title of ownership and rejects a court of arbitration.
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1928 |
1929 |
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Cairo offers other objects in exchange for the bust. |
They agree in principle on an exchange and Berlin requests three valuable objects in exchange.
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1929 |
1930 |
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Cairo agrees to the requirements from Berlin. |
The exchange is being called off. Berlin refers to the importance of the bust for the capital.
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1930er |
1933 |
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Cairo continues its efforts and turns to the German government. |
Herrmann Göring plans the return for October 1933. Adolf Hitler disagrees and ends the plan putting down his foot in 1935. The talks with Cairo are being discontinued.
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1946 |
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The Egyptian prime minister turns to the American government, who took custody of the bust after the war. The State Department did not assume responsibility and refused to return the bust..
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1950ies |
1950ies |
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Cairo continuously applies to Berlin presenting its case. |
No willingness of Berlin to engage in a dialog. The position of the government of the FRG is that their ownership is not at all at doubt.
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1959 |
1959 |
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Cairo offers new exchange object. |
Berlin refused the exchange offer.
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1975 |
1975 |
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Cairo intervenes in the inner-German Conflict regarding Nefertiti and requests from both sides to return the bust to its country of origin.
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No response, neither from the FRG nor the GDR.
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1995 |
1995 |
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The Egyptian Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosny, demands the return of Nefertiti for the planned new big Museum in Egypt. "We want back only a sparsely few witnesses of our great history... Really only a few of the most important pieces. It is not asked too much, if we ask the countries, which exhibit Egyptian antiquities, to give us one object of each thousand of objects they exhibit." (Der Spiegel, 20/1995)
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No public response from Berlin.
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2002 |
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The Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) initiates a massive Campaign for the restitution of ancient artefacts from international collections.
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02/2002 |
2002 |
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Hosny demands the return of the Bust to Cairo, during the repatriation of the restored Echnaton-sarcophagus to Egypt.
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No public reaction from Berlin.
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2003 |
2003 |
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In response to the art event, during which the bust was presented on a naked bronze body, the Minister of Culture Hosny and the head of the SCA Zahi Hawass claim its immediate restitution.
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The Egyptian Museum placed the bust at the disposal of two Hungarian Artists for an Art Event for the Biennale in Venice. |
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09/2003 |
09/2003 |
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Cairo turns to the UNESCO and asks for assistance. |
Berlin answers no inquiries and removes the announcement of the art event from its website, without further comment.
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09/2003 |
09/2003 |
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Hawass bases his renewed claim for restitution amongst others on fraud from the German side at the division of the finds. |
Dietrich Wildung, director of the Egyptian Museum, describes Hawass as uncooperative. A return of the bust "would not even be open to discussion."(Egypt today, 09/2003)
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2004 |
2004 |
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Wafaa el-Saddik, Director of the national museum in Cairo, requests for the first time a loan of the bust for an exhibit of two-month length.
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No public response from Berlin. |
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2005 |
2005 |
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Hawass presents the case in front of the UNESCO Committee for contentious restitution claims. |
Berlin declines any negotiation in front of the Committee, which therefore cannot take um its mediating activity. In August the bust is moved to the museum island. The description at the museum explains the importance of the bust as follows: "Old Egypt had a new Icon of symbolic value and the museums of Berlin gained a new identity."
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02/2006 |
2006 |
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El-Saddik proposes a joint Nefertiti exhibition: "All Egyptians demand the restitution. ... Of course this will be very difficult. I know very well that Nefertiti is very important for Berlin. But she is Egyptian. Maybe it will be possible to organise together an exhibit. I thought we might join our Nefertiti with her. ... The fear we would keep Nefertiti in Egypt is baseless." (Berliner Zeitung 18.02.06)
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No public response from Berlin. |
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05/2006 |
05/2006 |
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During the opening of the Exhibit 'Egypt's sunken treasures', Hawass asked in the presence of President Mubarak and President Köhler for "a visit of queen Nefertiti" in the framework of the exhibit of the DAI in Cairo in November 2007 and offers all international guaranties to ensure its proper return after three month, as well as "a beautiful piece from Egypt" in exchange for the meantime. (Die Welt, 13.05.06)
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A speaker of the Egyptian Museum of Berlin responded with the words, "after 3000 years the lady is not willing to travel any longer". (Die Welt, 13.05.06) |
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06/2006 |
06/2006 |
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Hosny demands toward Wildung the restitution of the Bust, at a conference in Rome. |
Wildung responds to Hosny with the remark: "You want to take Nefertiti's bust ... So what can we do? Shall we close the museum?" (Al-Ahram 797/2006)
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09/2006 |
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Hawass expresses in an interview his regrets regarding the blockading approach from Berlin and announces renewed repatriation claims: "In front of the president of Germany, I said, 'I hope, Mr. President, that we can have the bust of Nefertiti as a loan for three month. In return, we will give Germany a masterpiece- perhaps even better than this one- for three months.' They refused! This is why next year I will make it an international mission with the support of the archaeological community. I was not asking for everything to come back- not at all. I was asking for the unique pieces to come back on loan, so that the Egyptian people who never travel can see them. Because I was refused, my strategy now is not to have it for a loan but to have it back." (Egypt Today, 09/2006)
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12/2006 |
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El-Saddik presents again the wish for a loan of the bust: "We would like to show her with our Nefertiti. The colleagues in Berlin claim, the bust cannot be transported. But transport techniques are very advanced nowadays. Regarding the fear, we would keep her over here, I can only say: It is without base. There are governmental treaties. Claims for restitution we hold for objects that left the country illegally." (Berliner Zeitung 22.12.2006)
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03/2007 |
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At a panel discussion Wildung cites the Egyptian ambassador Al-Orabi: "Nefertiti is the permanent representative of Egypt in Germany." Before he always had called her "the best ambassador" of Egypt.
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4/2007 |
4/2007 |
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Hawass criticised Neumanns response in front of the Egyptian parliament and announced sanctions to be taken in case that the loan will be inhibited by Germany. He will request the loan of the bust for the opening of the new museum in 2012 in a letter to the German Cultural Minister. |
Cultural Minister Bernd Neumann refused a loan demand reasoning the bust can't be transported for conservatory reasons. |
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Cultural Minister Hosny commented: Germany is making a "mistake", if it refuses the loan. "The Egyptians have the right to admire the rare examples of their antiquities, located in foreign countries." |
A parliamentarian initiative in the Bundestag asks questions regarding the actual base of the conservatory state of the bust. |
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Sources, if not already cited, can be found here. |
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