Egypt Antiquities Chief Says He'll Fight for Nefertiti Bust
CAIRO, Egypt — Egypt's antiquities chief told the Associated Press in an interview that if persuasion doesn't work, he will fight for an ancient bust of Nefertiti now in a Berlin museum that Germany says is too fragile to loan to Egypt.
Zahi Hawass rattled the world's museums last week with requests to hand over masterpieces of ancient Egypt, including the Rosetta Stone; some for loans, others permanently.
Mr. Hawass said in the interview Wednesday that the goal is to display the pieces in two new museums, particularly the Grand Museum, which is opening in 2012 next to the Great Pyramids of Giza, and for it to be Egypt's main antiquities showcase.
But the bombastic archeologist, known for the Indiana Jones-style hat he wears as he unveils new discoveries, has met resistance from museums reluctant to part with their most prized artifacts.
"Some people say, ‘If we give this bust to Egypt for three months, they will not return it,'" Mr. Hawass said, regarding the bust of Nefertiti. "I say: We are not the pirates of the Caribbean. We are in the 21st century, we have co-operation with all the countries and who respect our work."
Topping his list of requests for loans is the famed 3,300-year-old bust of Nefertiti, the wife of the pharaoh Akhenaten, which is now at Berlin's Egyptian Museum. Also atop the list is the Rosetta Stone at London's British Museum, a slab of black basalt with an inscription that was the key to deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.
But Mr. Hawass said Egypt was seeking "unique artifacts" from at least 10 museums around the world, including the Louvre in Paris and Boston's Museum of Fine Arts.
