Ambassador hopes to share Sekhemka statue in rescue bid

The Sekhemka statue sold at auction for more than £15m in 2014

A 4,500-year-old statue sold for £15.8m could stay in the UK after intervention by the Egyptian ambassador to Britain.

Northampton Borough Council sold the statue of Sekhemka in 2014 to fund expansion of its museum.

Ambassador Nasser Kamel, alongside campaigners in both countries, wants to save the statue for UK and Egyptian display.

The embassy has suggested it purchases the artefact with a view to loaning it to the British Museum.

The UK government, which has the power to grant an export licence, said any buyers have until 29 March to put up the cash.

The ambassador told the Art Newspaper: "One idea is for the Egyptian embassy in London to own and then loan the statue for six months at a time to the British Museum in London and the Egyptian Museum in Cairo."

The statue of Sekhemka shows him reading a scroll and would have been placed in his tomb

The statue, believed to be of a high court official, dates from 2400-2300BC.

The Save Sekhemka group said: "The ambassador's suggestion shows the level of anger the sale of Sekhemka aroused and commitment to keeping the statue in the public domain in the two nations."

Culture Minister Ed Vaizey placed a temporary export bar on the limestone statue because it was considered to be the finest example of its kind anywhere in the world.

The deferral period was granted to allow a potential purchaser in the UK to raise the money to buy back the statue.

A Department for Culture, Media and Sport spokesperson said: "All interested parties have until 29 March to raise the funds to purchase the Sekhemka statue."