CAIRO, June 13 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities said on Thursday that it filed an official complaint to Egypt's prosecutor general to take the necessary legal action to stop the sale of 32 Egyptian artifacts in an auction in London.
"The ministry's Antiquities Repatriation Department found the artifacts in the highlights of Christie's auction house in the British capital London to be sold in an auction on July 3-4," the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities said in a statement.
The ancient Egyptian artifacts in question include a 3,000-year-old bust of famous Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun, known worldwide as King Tut, a limestone bust of Princess Henut-taneb and a wood shabti for King Seti I, in addition to wood and limestone shabtis, a bronze cat, a limestone lion, a cartonnage mummy mask, amulets and jars.
Many Egyptians expressed anger and dissatisfaction with the anticipated auction on social media websites.
On Monday, the Egyptian ministries of foreign affairs and antiquities asked Christie's auction house and the UNESCO as well to halt the sale of King Tut's bust and all other Egyptian artifacts.
The Egyptian embassy in London also contacted the British authorities for the same purpose.
