The US government has seized 14 ancient Egyptian artifacts at JFK airport, including a 5,200-year-old vase, between 2020 and 2021. The items were seized under the federal crime of smuggling goods into the US.
List of Seized Artifacts
- A faience amulet of the goddess Hatmehyt from Egypt's Late Period (664BCE–332 BCE)
- A Egyptian wooden canopic jar cover from the New Kingdom Period, dating to the 19th Dynasty or later (1300 BCE)
- A Cypriot vessel
- Two painted limestone Shabtis
- A painted limestone bed figurine from ancient Egypt's New Kingdom period (1549 BCE–1075 BCE)
- Two phallic figurines from 664–30 BCE
- A pre-Dynastic vase from 3500 BCE–3200 BCE
- A limestone lug-handled jar from 3000 BCE–2600 BCE
Investigation and Seizure
The investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations agent Aaron Klein, who filed a 22-page declaration naming six individuals and companies involved in the smuggling. The items were purchased by antiquities collector Mark Ragan, who bought eight of the 14 items from an eBay seller with the user ID CENTURYART. The items were shipped from Thailand and arrived in the US, where they were inspected by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and subsequently seized.
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