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Egypt Independent
Egyptian Ambassador to Canada Ahmed Abu-Zeid received a bronze statue of the ancient Egyptian goddess ‘Bastet’, during a small ceremony at the Ambassador’s residence on Tuesday.
The ceremony was attended by senior officials from the departments of Heritage and Foreign Affairs, the Canadian Border Services Agency and correspondents from major Canadian media outlets.
“The recovery of the artefact was as a result of joint efforts and close cooperation between the Egyptian Embassy in Canada, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, and Canadian authorities”, said Abu-Zeid.
The agencies worked together over several months to verify the recovered statue after it was detained by the Canadian Border Services Agency to verify the legality of its exit from Egypt. It was proven to be illegally trafficked out of the country.
The Assistant Minister of Canadian Heritage expressed her “happiness to participate in the ceremony of handing over the statue”.
She affirmed the Canadian government’s keenness to return it to Egypt, in compliance with the UNESCO treaty concerned, as it prohibits and prevents illegal trade, import, export, and transfer of ownership of cultural property, which was signed by the two countries.
At the end of the ceremony, the Egyptian Ambassador received a certificate signed by the Canadian Minister of Heritage to return the statue to the Egyptian government.
The director general of Egypt’s Retrieved Antiquities Department of the Antiquities Ministry, Shaaban Abdel Gawad, said: “the cat represents the deity Bastet, daughter of the sun god Ra, who was depicted in the drawings in the form of a woman with a cat’s head. Bastet is considered a symbol of tenderness and gentleness, as she was closely associated with the woman”.
“The ancient Egyptian people domesticated cats and raised them in homes. Cats were often revered and mummified upon their deaths”, Shaaban indicated. He added: “Statues representing them were made from various stones and metals”.
