‫االمتحانات الرسمية لشهادة االمتياز الفني‬
‫ االولى‬2009 ‫لدورة عام‬
)4( :
‫ ساعة ونصف‬:
‫المعدل‬
‫المدة‬
‫الجمهورية اللبنانية‬
‫وزارة التربية و التعليم العالي‬
‫المديرية العامة للتعليم المهني والتقني‬
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)29010( ‫ االدارة الفندقية‬:
‫االختصاص والرمز‬
)‫ اللغة االجنبية االولى (انكليزي‬:
‫المادة‬
‫ ال شيء‬:
‫المستندات المسموح بها‬
Egypt's No. 1' Case of stolen treasure
US museum refuses to return burial mask once held by Lebanese-owned gallery in Geneva.
Marjorie Olster
Associated Press
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CAIRO: More than half a century ago, a prominent Egyptian archaeologist unearthed a stunning ancient mummy mask at the
Saqqara pyramids near Cairo-the golden image of a noblewoman's face.
Mohammad Zakaria Ghoneim deposited the 3,200-year-old relic in a warehouse at Saqqara, where he meticulously
documented his discovery. Seven years later, in 1959, Egyptian records show it was still in the same storeroom. What
happened to the burial mask of Ka Nefer Nefer in the four decades that followed is a mystery.
It resurfaced in 1998 when the St. Louis Art Museum acquired it. And now it is at the center of one of the most acrimonious
fights in the antiquities world.
The case lays bare the complexities involved in growing efforts by Egypt and other countries to reclaim artifacts stolen or
looted from their ancient civilizations.
Local and international laws are often inadequate or nonexistent. The process requires delicate cooperation between
government, law enforcement , museums, and antiquities dealers.And frequently, there are gaps in the historical records.
Claims are attracting increasing attention after prestigious institutions such as the J.Paul. Getty Museum of Art in Los Angeles
and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York agreed to return looted or stolen artwork or antiquities. Zahi Hawass, head
of Egypt's antiquities authority, said his country has recovered some 5 000 stolen artifacts since 2002, and is pursuing dozens
more.
" This is the No. 1 case", he said in an interview. "Egypt has a right to the mask".
Hawass said there is no record showing the mask ever left Egypt legally. But the St. Louis museum contends Egypt has not
proven it was stolen.
Museum director Brent Benjamin said he took "very seriously" the accusation of theft. "If that is true, there is no question that
the museum would return the object," he said.
But, he added, "to date, we have not seen information that we believe is compelling enough to return the object."
After a recent request from Hawass, who does not shy away from using political pressure to get what he wants, the US
Department of Homeland Security is looking into the case.
Egyptian records seen by the AP show the burial cover for Ka Nefer Nefer's mummy was discovered in 1952 by Ghoneim,
who oversaw excavations at the Saqqara pyramids, about 20 kilometers south of the more famous Great Pyramids of Giza.
The sprawling necropolis of Saqqara is the burial site of the rulers of ancient Memphis, the capital of Egypt's Old Kingdom.
Ghoneim found the mask in a burial site behind the unfinished Step Pyramid of King Sekhemkhef. The funerary cover was
inside, dating from 1307-1196 BC.
Ka Nefer Nefer's golden burial mask was testimony to her position in the court of Pharaoh Ramses II. Her eyes are of glass,
which was as valuable as gemstones at the time. In each hand she holds a wooden amulet, a symbol of strength and status. Her
arms bear a relief showing her ascent into the afterlife on the boat of Osiris, Egyptian god of the underworld.
Ghoneim registered his find in the official ledger at, the government warehouse, or magazine, at Saqqara. The page in the
ledger book, a key document Egypt has presented to St. Louis to stake its claim, shows a high quality photograph of the mask,
the finder's name and ID number, and a detailed description.
In 1957, Ghoneim published his discovery in a book showing him and the mask at the site, which Egyptologists view as
important evidence for Egypt's claim. A second record from Saqqara given to St. Louis showed the artifact was packed in a
box with other antiquities in 1959 for a shipment to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
Around that time, Egypt was beginning to exhibit its antiquities abroad and the mask was considered important enough for a
show planned for Japan. But Egypt says the mask never made it there.
Because records were not kept or are lost, Egypt, has not determined exactly when the mask went missing. Egyptian research
concluded it was stolen in 1959, most likely from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo or en route to it from the Saqqara storeroom.
In 2006, Egypt, made its first claim that the mask was stolen and asked the museum to return it. It has repeatedly renewed that
demand. But it can not show the theft was ever detected and never reported the item as stolen to the international Art Loss
Registry.
The museum said it checked with the registry before buying the mask to see if it was listed as stolen. It was not.
St. Louis also sent a letter to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo saying it had acquired the mask and that in its response, the
Egyptian museum did not indicate the item was stolen. Egypt accuses St. Louis of falsifying the provenance, which
documents the history of ownership of an artifact.
The museum's provenance puts the mask in the possession of a Belgian art dealer in 1952. However, Egypt can show that it
was in the Saqqara storeroom in both 1952 and 1959, making it improbable it ever left there, especially to a foreign country,
in the intervening years.
"It did not leave Egypt legally", said Hawass. "There would have been a record of this."
Benjamin acknowledged that "there is certainly uncertainty about how it moved from person to person".
)29010( ‫ االدارة الفندقية‬:
)‫ اللغة االجنبية االولى (انكليزي‬:
‫ ال شيء‬:
‫االختصاص والرمز‬
‫المادة‬
‫المستندات المسموح بها‬
I- Comprehension :
1- How does the title reflect the main idea of the text? Explain.
(2 pts)
2- Select the types of readers who might be interested in the text, and then state the interest of each type.
(2 pts)
3- Summarize the story of the mask's disappearance in 5 lines.
(2 pts)
4- What does the mask represent ? Explain.
(1 pt)
5- What legal steps were made by the Egyptian government?
Up to your knowledge and point of view, what measures should be followed to keep our antiquities.
(2 pts)
6- Pick out the meanings of the following from the text :
Store house ( part 2) – stolen or taken by force ( part 3 ) – works of digging ( part 4) – witness ( part 4).
(2 pts)
II- A- Pick out a cause / effect sentence from ( part 6).
(½ pt)
- What is the type of the underlined sentence in (part 4).
(½ pt)
- What do the underlined pronouns in parts (7 and 9) refer to?
(½ pt)
B- Fill in the blanks with the right technical word from your own :
(2 ½ pts)
The tourism department gets its ___________ from many sources. A source of statistics is ___________,
___________, ___________ that supply information. One important source for tourism statistics is the information card
___________ by tourists as they arrive in a country.
III- Writing :
(5 pts)
Write a well-developped subject about the following quotation arguing in favour or against the viewpoint expressed.
"There was a time when travelling brought the traveller into contact with civilizations which were radically different
from his own and impressed him in the first place by their strangeness. During the last few centuries such instances have
become increasingly rare. Whether he is visiting India or America, the modern traveller is less surprised than he cares to
admit."