Posted on 06/25/2019 2:53:58 PM PDT by BenLurkin
As a diplomatic dispute rages between Egypt and the auction house Christie's in London over a sculpture depicting the head of the pharaoh Tutankhamun, set to be auctioned on July 4, a Live Science investigation reveals several clues as to where this sculpture comes from.
The sculpture, being auctioned off by an anonymous owner through Christie's, is made of quartzite (a type of stone). Estimates for how much the sculpture will fetch vary around $5.1 million (4 million pounds).
However, Egypt believes that it was looted from the Karnak temple sometime after 1970, and the country's embassy in the U.K. has demanded that the sculpture be repatriated to Egypt. Christie's claims that the sculpture was owned by Prinz (Prince) Wilhelm von Thurn und Taxis (who lived from 1919 to 2004) in the 1960s and that he sold it in 1973 or 1974 to Josef Messina, the owner of Galerie Kokorian & Co, Vienna. Egypt has threatened court action if the sculpture is not returned, with the dispute garnering news headlines around the world.
Both Viktor von Thurn und Taxis (Wilhelm's son) and Daria von Thurn und Taxis (Wilhelm's niece) told Live Science that Wilhelm never owned the sculpture. Furthermore, Daria said in an interview that Wilhelm had no interest in ancient artifacts, or art in general.
Daria believes that the sculpture may have been owned by Wilhelm's cousin Prince Raimondo Torre e Tasso who "lived in the castel of Duino [a castle in Italy], which was known for its antiquities,"
Prince Raimondo is dead, but his surviving family members currently live in the castle for part of the year. A spokesperson for the family told Live Science that Raimondo and his family never owned the Tutankhamun sculpture.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
He’s my favorite honky.
If the Thurn und Taxis family is a rich as rumored, they may have forgotten ever owning a bauble like this.
Agreed. And, apropos of nothing, often those whose taste is all in their mouths won't go for something broken, preferring an intact replica of something to the authentic.
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