Archaeologists Request Nefertiti Chest Statue Stored In Berlin Returned To Egypt

Statue of Nefertiti at the Neues Berlin Museum. (Wikimedia Commons/Jesus Gorriti)

JAKARTA - leading archaeologist and former Minister of Antiquities Zahi Hawass launched a petition to return the breast statue of the Firaun Ratu Nefertiti from the Neues Museum in Berlin, Germany to Egypt.

The famous Nefertiti limestone chest statue was discovered at Tell el-Amarna, about 300 km (185 miles) south of Cairo, in 1912 by a German archaeological mission, which sent it to Berlin the following year.

Amarna is the short-lived capital of Nefertiti's husband, Firilun of the 18th Akhenaten dynasty, who ruled until around 1335 BC.

Akhenaten, called the heretical king, is famous for promoting the late Dewa Aten by ruling out other Egyptian gods. His government also introduces radical changes in Egyptian art.

In a petition launched on Saturday last week, Hawass requested that the chest statue be returned, saying the statue was illegally removed from Egypt after being found.

"We announce today that Egypt - this is a national committee, not a government committee - requesting that Nefertiti's chest statue be returned," Hawass said.

"All I need from everyone here is to visit my website hawasszahi.com, and you will sign, a signature, to show that you want this chest statue to be returned," he exclaimed.

Hawass said he did not call for the repatriation of artifacts brought out of Egypt legally. His campaign focused on repatriation of "three beautiful main objects" including the statue of Nefertiti's chest, Batu Rosetta, andICKon Dinar.

Meanwhile, officials at the Neues Berlin Museum could not immediately be reached for comment.