CBP seized Egyptian artifact imported into Tennessee
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — According to a news statement issued by Customs and Border Protection (CBP), agents in Memphis, Tennessee, this week were able to seize an Egyptian artifact that might be over 30 centuries old.
CBP officers stopped the delivery of a jar lid depicting the funeral deity “Imsety” that was headed from Europe to a private buyer in the United States. The item is currently on a list of “designated archaeological materials of cultural property” that are subject to seizure if they are shipped into the United States.
Before the artifact was confiscated by CBP on Wednesday, August 17, at the port of Memphis, Tennessee, the shipper of the artifact allegedly made contradictory statements “regarding the declared value of the item,” as stated by CBP.
CBP says that experts from the University of Memphis Institute of Egyptian Art helped them figure out if the artifact was authentic.
According to CBP, the artifact was then sent to Homeland Security investigators in order to determine its origin and further examination to be conducted.
According to Customs and Border Protection, the lid is one of many items on a list that are protected by bilateral treaties that come under the CPIA 19 USC 2609. The Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act of 1983 (CPIA) is an act that was established by Congress in 1983 that places restrictions on the import of certain archaeological and ethnological items into the country.
