Egypt Probes Disappearance of Golden Pharaoh's Bracelet from Cairo Museum

Nevine El-Aref 

Tuesday 16 Sep 2025

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has initiated an investigation and notified the Public Prosecution after a rare golden bracelet went missing from a restoration lab at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo’s Tahrir.

The artefact, a solid gold and lapis lazuli piece belonging to King Amenemope of the Third Intermediate Period, disappeared from a secure restoration laboratory, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The ministry added that it has circulated images of the unique piece to all border crossings, airports, and ports to prevent its potential smuggling out of the country.

A special committee has also been formed to conduct a full inventory of all artefacts within the restoration lab.

Additionally, the ministry confirmed that photos circulating on social media, purportedly of the missing item, are inaccurate, saying such images show similar bracelets that remain safely on public display.

“The bracelets seen in those photos are on display in the museum’s second-floor galleries,” clarified Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

“The one under investigation is entirely different.”

The ministry acknowledged that it had deliberately delayed announcing the incident to avoid compromising the ongoing investigation.