Egyptian Museum bracelet theft sparks outrage and security calls

CAIRO — A 3,000-year-old bracelet believed to have belonged to Pharaoh Amenemope was stolen from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo on Sept. 9 and melted down for gold, sparking nationwide outrage. Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathy said in televised remarks Saturday that the artifact was taken from a restoration lab as museum officials prepared pieces for an exhibit in Italy, and he cited lax security procedures as prosecutors opened an investigation.

The bracelet, which includes a lapis lazuli bead, was traced through a chain of dealers after being removed from the restoration lab before being melted down. Four suspects have been arrested, including a restoration specialist at the museum who confessed to handing the bracelet to an acquaintance who runs a silver shop in Cairo’s Sayyeda Zainab district. The item was reportedly sold to the owner of a gold workshop for about $3,800 and later to a worker at another shop who melted it into jewelry. Officials said the cash has been seized and the suspects confessed; a ministry statement said prosecutors had ordered the restoration specialist and her accomplice detained for 15 more days, while two other suspects were released on bail of 10,000 Egyptian pounds each.

Locals expressed anger at the loss of a treasure that survived for three millennia, and officials faced renewed calls to tighten security at the country’s museums. Archaeologist Monica Hanna urged suspending overseas exhibits until stronger protections are in place, and Malek Adly, a human rights lawyer, called the theft an alarm bell for the government and pressed for improved security for antiquities in exhibition halls and storage.

Amenemope is believed to have ruled Egypt from Tanis in the Nile Delta during the 21st Dynasty. The Tanis royal necropolis, excavated by French archaeologist Pierre Montet in 1940, houses about 2,500 artifacts, including golden funerary items; the collection underwent restoration in 2021 in cooperation with the Louvre Museum in Paris.

The case has drawn echoes of Egypt’s broader cultural-security challenges and past losses. In 2010, Vincent van Gogh’s Poppy Flowers was stolen from a Cairo museum and valued at about $50 million; it disappeared for years and has not been recovered, though a similar earlier theft in 1977 was later resolved. The theft has raised concerns about security in both storage and display spaces.

Ministry officials said the investigation is ongoing and that authorities will review and tighten protections for artifacts in storage and on display. The case comes as Egypt continues to balance showcasing its heritage to the world with safeguarding its most valuable treasures.