Statue of Tutankhamun's sister recovered

Cairo, Dec 9 (IANS/AKI) A precious statue of Ankhesom, the sister of ancient Egyptian boy king Tutankhamun, that was stolen from a museum this summer has been recovered, a minister said.

Antiquities Minister Mohamed Ibrahim said police traced the more than 2,500-year-old limestone figurine to a coffee shop in the Egyptian capital.

The 32-cm-tall statue depicts Ankhesom standing naked and holding an offering in her right hand.

The figurine needs some restoration work but will go on display in a new museum devoted to the family of Tutankhamun's father, Pharaoh Akhenaten, said the head of the museum department, Ahmed Sharaf.

Akhenaten's family ruled ancient Egypt around 1,500 B.C.

The statue of Ahkhesom was stolen from the Mallawi Museum in northern Egypt during unrest sparked by the army's ousting of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July.

Looters broke into the museum and made off with 1,050 artifacts, of which about 800 have been recovered.

--IANS/AKI

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