Because that's what we need to save Sekhemka.
The story so far:
It was a shameful sell-off.
Since 1850 the 4,500 year-old statue of the Inspector of the Scribes, Sekhemka, had been in the Northampton Museum
Then in June 2014 the Northampton Borough Council instructed Christie's to sell Sekhemka to pay for some renovations. Despite howls of protest, Sekhemka went to auction. They thought he would raise £6 million. In the end, Sekhemka sold for £14 million, or nearly $24 million, to an unknown overseas buyer.
And that was that. We thought Sekhemka would then sadly disappear into a private collection.But before the statue could leave the U.K., the Culture Minister placed on it a temporary export ban, saying that it was an outstanding example of its kind and worthy of further study.
The ban was first extended to August 28, and now could even be extended throughto March next year if there is a serious expression of interest put forward to raise funds to keep Sekhemka in the UK.
The recommended price is £15,732,600.
I sincerely hope some sort of crowd-funding takes place to secure Sekhemka in his adoptive home.
Pictured is Sekhemka with a papyrus scroll stretched across his lap, containing a list of offerings for the afterlife. His wife, Sitmeret, is kneeling to his right, tenderly embracing his leg.