Nefertiti "staying in Berlin" says German culture minister

May 19, 2010, 12:45 GMT

Berlin - Egyptian demands for the bust of ancient queen Nefertiti to return to Cairo fell on deaf ears Wednesday, as Germany's State Minister for Culture Bernd Neumann said the statue belonged in Germany.

'The bust of Nefertiti is staying in Berlin,' Neumann said.

Egypt's antiquities chief Zahi Hawass announced last week that he was about to formally request Nefertiti's return to Cairo.

The 3,500 year old sculpture, discovered during a 1912 excavation at Tell al-Amarna, has pride of place in Berlin's recently refurbished New Museum.

Neumann insisted that the bust was lawfully acquired in 1913 by the German Oriental Company, and was later rightfully passed to the Prussian state.

'This is doubtlessly backed by documents. Egyptian legal claims for the return of Nefertiti thus lack any basis,' Neumann added.

The minister said it had been agreed in 1913 to equally divide the items discovered by German archeologists during the excavation. At the time, the Egyptian antiquity service had selected its share of the find.

The remaining share, including Nefertiti's bust, was assigned to the German side, Neumann added.