London News and Reviews

Egyptian statue that cost council £440,000 is a forgery

Bogus: But the statue was sold for £440,000

The real mask of Tutankhamun

The offer from the antiques dealer seemed too good to be true.

He had a 3,000-year-old Egyptian artefact, a statue of King Tut's half-sister, which had been in his family for more than a century.

And although it was worth £1million, he was prepared to sell it to his local authority for a knockdown £440,000 so it could remain in his home town.

After experts from the British Museum and Christie's had vouched for its authenticity, Bolton Council raised the money to buy the sculpture, known as the Amarna Princess.

It was not until three years later, when a similar item arrived at the Museum, that the Princess's guilty secret was exposed.

She was a fake. Far from being made in Ancient Egypt, the alabaster sculpture has more in common with Modern Lancashire. Police believe the sculpture was created in Bolton. When they raided a house in the town, they discovered marble and other artists' equipment inside.

An elderly couple and their two sons have been arrested and charged with offences connected to forgery.

The 20-inch figure was said to date back to 1350 BC, and to be one of only three known pieces from the period in existence. The forgery came to light when another sculpture, from Syria, was sent by a private client for examination at the British Museum.

This time, experts failed to be taken in and on further investigation discovered that it must have come from the same dubious source as the Amarna Princess. Scotland Yard's Arts and Antiques squad seized the Syrian relief, along with two other pieces from London, and impounded the Princess. But by then the sculpture, much feted despite its lack of head, arms or lower legs, had been proudly displayed across Britain.

The vendor had claimed that his great-grandfather had bought it at the auction of the property of the Earl of Egremont in 1892. Bolton council officials who uncovered a copy of the sale catalogue were unable to find any mention of the Princess in it. But they went ahead anyway.

Grants were obtained of £360,000 from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, a part-Government funded body, as well as £75,000 from the independent charity the National Art Collections Fund and £ 2,500 from the Friends of Bolton Museum and Art Gallery.

A series of experts said that the woman was the daughter of King Akhenaten and Nefertiti, his most senior wife. Akhenaten was succeeded by Tutankhamun, his son by another wife.

The sculpture initially went on display at the the Hayward Gallery, on London's South Bank, as part of its Saved! celebration of 100 years of saving art for the nation, before being moved to Bolton Museum in January 2004.

At the time, securing the Princess was hailed as a great coup for the town. Councillor Laurie Williamson, spokesman on culture, said: 'This latest addition will enhance Bolton's reputation as a cultural destination.' Last week, antiques dealer George Greenhalgh, 84, and his 82-year- old wife Olive were quizzed by detectives from the Metropolitan Police.

The couple and their 52-year- old son, Shaun, have each been charged with conspiracy to defraud, including alleged offences of selling faked and forged works as genuine between 1989 and 2006 and money laundering the proceeds of the sale of such antiques.

George Greenhalgh and Shaun Greenhalgh also face an additional charge of laundering the proceeds of the sale of the Amarna Princess.

The couple's elder son, George jnr, aged 53, has also been charged with money laundering. The four are due to face Bolton magistrates on Thursday.

Receive our newsletter