“Today, as we gather to celebrate the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), we are inscribing a new chapter in the annals of both the present and the future in the enduring story of this ancient nation.” With these words, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi addressed the audience at the Grand Egyptian Museum’s (GEM) inauguration in Cairo. “This majestic edifice is not merely a repository for precious antiquities; it is, rather, a living testament to the genius of the Egyptian people; the same genius that carved upon temple walls the saga of eternity.”
After two decades of construction, the colossal museum now rises in Giza, standing along the pyramids, as though the two architectural forms were speaking to one another across time, from the distant past to the years yet to come. This long-anticipated project has quickly become a centerpiece of Egyptian tourism. Housing over 100,000 artifacts, it is now the world’s largest museum dedicated to a single civilization.
The inauguration attracted an international audience of diplomats and cultural representatives, who witnessed the museum’s debut while bidding farewell to the former Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square. In a symbolic gesture, the Netherlands returned a sculpture looted during the Arab uprisings, which had later resurfaced at an art fair in Maastricht. The Dutch Prime Minister called the piece “deeply meaningful to Egypt’s identity.”
The return of such artifact echoes Egypt’s long-standing calls to reclaim treasures taken abroad, a struggle that has spanned decades in the effort to restore the nation’s heritage to its motherland. Recent campaigns have gained momentum, notably a viral video by filmmaker Fadi Victor in collaboration with Dr. Zahi Hawass, former Minister of Tourism and Antiquities. Viewed over 3.6 million times on Instagram, it calls for the return of three of Egypt’s most important lost treasures: the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum, the Dendera Zodiac at the Louvre, and the Bust of Nefertiti at Berlin’s Neues Museum.
Each artifact carries a powerful symbolic message. The Rosetta Stone unlocked hieroglyphs. The Dendera Zodiac reflects millennia-old astronomical knowledge. The Bust of Nefertiti embodies beauty and the authority of pharaonic rule. Some, like Nefertiti’s bust, were deliberately misappropriated, as it was shipped to Berlin in 1912 under false pretenses; sparking more than a century of Egyptian demands for its return.
At the same time, these pieces confront us with a harsher reality: the looting of antiquities and their preservation in Western museums reflect lingering postcolonial power dynamics within the world of art. These objects are fragments of a country’s heritage, often taken during periods of unequal power. Their presence in European and American institutions can be seen as a symbol of continued dominance. As demands for their return grow, many museums argue that such pieces belong to a “universal” or “world heritage,” which depossessed the homeland of historical accountability.
As I ask Fadi Victor about the reasons behind why these artifacts are still overseas he observes, “Why do countries like Germany, the U.S., and Italy hold thousands of Egyptian artifacts, even entire museums built around our civilization, while we have none of their heritage in Egypt? This imbalance reflects a legacy of power and influence, especially after the world wars, but the world today is moving toward a new chapter of openness, freedom, and correcting historical wrongs.”
For centuries, and through the invention of museums as we know it today, some objects have been chosen as beautiful, and valuable by the West. This allowed museums to buy, loot, hide, offer or give artifacts from another culture.”
Many major museums, including the Louvre, continue to present themselves as the most capable guardians of these works. Germany, for instance, has once again refused Egypt’s request for the return of the Nefertiti bust, arguing that it is far too significant to leave the Neues Museum. “These institutions believed they had the upper hand, claiming they could protect the artifacts better or that without them we couldn’t have understood hieroglyphics or known our history,” adds Victor. “This is simply not true. They may have contributed to discoveries, but the artifacts themselves belong to us, to our land, our ancestors, and our narrative.”
As explained by Elias Aguigah, who worked in the project Restitution of Knowledge. Artefacts as Archives in the (Post)Colonial Museum, museums are the market of art where they rely on attracting more visitors to generate capital. As such, competition amongst major cities for tourists and investors has made it necessary to cultural institutions to play an active role in their economic development; In Egypt, this dynamic takes on a particularly striking form with the Grand Egyptian Museum.
Seif Salem, founder of MyEgypt, the country’s largest tourism campaign, sees the GEM as much more than a building. “It is a strong geopolitical and cultural statement for Egypt,” he says. “It strengthens our tourism and our position in archaeology. More importantly, it allows us to tell our own story, instead of having it narrated abroad. For years, our history was largely sold and explained outside Egypt.”
The museum rises at a moment when tourism is finally bouncing back after the long hiatus following the uprising, giving Egypt the chance to present its heritage on its own terms. Saskia Cousin, Professor of Sociology at Paris Nanterre University, who specializes in the othering of worlds and objects and their politics, explains that restitution is a major issue for the countries concerned because it touches both sovereignty and national identity, forming a core part of economic strategy. “In reality, restitution is not an end in itself but a means to rebuild a national narrative and, indirectly, to attract tourists. Countries that return cultural objects have understood that cultural and tourist offerings follow antiquities, and a shift in mentality is already beginning to emerge.”
“I have always been uneasy with the idea that the national museum detains artifacts from countries that they colonized and present them at their property,” explains Yasmin, a French-Palestinian singer based in London, reflecting on her visits to the British Museum. “Today, it is widely accepted by the public opinion because it is presented as a cultural exhibition and a fake celebration of diversity (…) It makes us wonder if it’s ethical to proudly exhibit those as such.”
Restitution is therefore as much a political issue as it is a cultural one. Returning these items allows nations to address historical injustices and reclaim control over their own history and cultural narrative. In this perspective, cultural heritage is no longer just for display. It is a living legacy that should be preserved, restored, and reconnected to the communities that gave it life.
Salem insists, “Every artifact that was removed or looted should come back. That’s why the GEM exists: to protect them, restore them, and display our treasures. Yet when I travel abroad and see some of our antiquities there, it reminds me that our heritage is recognized worldwide.” He adds, “But our iconic pieces should be here. Tourism will follow, people follow icons.”
Nevertheless, numerous other institutions from Europe and North America have initiated partial restitution and collaborative agreements. Cousin remains cautiously optimistic: “Since 2021, a gradual shift has been observed. Actors in the sector are now much more careful not to acquire looted or stolen works.”
Some countries are also redefining their approach, agreeing to return artifacts, she adds- while maintaining that
restitution is not a transfer of ownership; the requesting nations must come to claim the works, with ambassadors acting as the “rightful owners” of the object.
This marks, even as a small change, the beginning of a transition where Egypt finally is given back the historical responsibility of their artifacts. The GEM does not just gather artifacts; it reframes Egypt as an active narrator of its own history, and forces foreign countries to see it as just a passive supplier of treasures that belongs only to a “universal” realm. Moreover, the diaspora now play a central role worldwide “its mobilization helps create public debate and grant it legitimacy to decide what should be done with the restituted works.” Cousin concludes.
In the landscape of Middle Eastern museums, the GEM stands apart. While many institutions focus on collaboration or highlighting national milestones, the Grand Egyptian Museum redefines the role of a national museum. It demonstrates that Egypt can assert cultural independence, challenge the lingering legacies of neocolonialism, and set a new standard for how museums present and control their own heritage.
