Egypt's antiquities ministry has recovered Sunday an ancient Egyptian statuette from the 26th dynasty in Austria that was originally illegally obtained through a covert excavation.
The Egyptian embassy in Vienna finally received the Ushtabi figurine that belonged to the dynasty noble Huriraa after trying to prove Egypt's right to the statuette and subsequent right to its repatriation for several months, according to the ministry's official statement .
"The ministry's antiquities repatriation department coordinated with all relevant and representative authorities in Interpol, Egypt's foreign ministry and the Egyptian embassy in Vienna in order to get back the statuette," it added.
"This assures the ministry's insistence on recovering stolen artifacts and the solidarity of all efforts to limit the phenomenon of selling cultural properties which ensures the preservation of the identity and heritage of the different peoples of the world."
The artifact was confiscated by police in Austria before it was about to leave the country when it was found with an Austrian citizen trying to sell it, according to head of the ministry's antiquities repatriation department Ali Ahmed.
Ushtabis were small but significant funerary figurines used in ancient Egypt, their purpose was to act as servants in the tomb in order to help the deceased in the afterlife in case they were required to carry out manual labor such as farming, which is why they often appear carrying plowing instruments.
The statuettes originated in the Old Kingdom and then their use continued throughout the following periods in ancient Egyptian history, they were usually made from faience, wood or limestone and produced in very large numbers to accompany the mummies.
Collections of Ushtabi figurines are displayed in various prominent ancient Egyptian exhibitions around the world, including the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, the British Museum in London and the Louvre Museum in Paris.