Coptic Icon Confiscated at Egyptian Airport

News October 31, 2017

(Courtesy Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities)
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Egypt Coptic icon
(Courtesy Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities)

HURGHADA, EGYPT—Ahram Online reports that antiquities officials confiscated a Coptic icon protected by a 1983 antiquities law at Hurghada International Airport. Naglaa El-Kobrosly, director of the Antiquities Units in Egyptian Airports, said a passenger attempted to smuggle the Christian triptych out of the country in some luggage. Crafted from copper in the eighteenth century, the icon’s three panels are said to reflect the Byzantine style. To read about a similar Byzantine artifact that was recently unearthed, go to “Iconic Discovery.”

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