Sekhemka statue sale: Council eyes 'global' reputation for arts

A council that caused an international heritage row by selling off an Egyptian statue has said it is aiming for "a global" cultural reputation.

The Egyptian government fought Northampton Borough Council's £16m sale of the Sekhemka figurine in 2014.

It faced widespread criticism, with protests and a warning from lawyers not to sell for "financial reasons".

Three years on, the council has now said it wanted to "assess" what heritage it had to "shout about".

In a report, the authority said it wanted to come up with an "action plan" to promote the town internationally.

Gunilla Loe, chairman of the Save Sekhemka Action Group, said: "One wishes one could say something positive but one cannot.

"I do not think they (the council) understand culture and heritage - it is not just a question of money. What flourishes in this town are private initiatives."

A report for the council's scrutiny committee said it wanted to "increase visitor numbers" by gaining "an understanding of how Northampton's tourism, heritage and culture offer is marketed".

It also wanted to "identify any gaps that can be developed".

A council spokesman said: "Northampton has a rich and diverse heritage and this is something we can help do more to highlight.

"The purpose of this piece of work is to assess precisely what we have to shout about and then how we can turn that into an attractive, unified offering for a visitor audience."

As the BBC revealed last year, the 4,000-year-old figurine is thought to be in the hands of a private collector in the US.

Egyptian Ambassador Ahsraf Elkholy condemned the sale as an "an abuse to the Egyptian archaeology and the cultural property".

He said the statue of Sekhemka, who was a royal chief, judge and administrator, should have been handed back to Egypt if the council no longer wanted it.

The UK government initially imposed a ban on its export - due to the statue's cultural significance and "outstanding aesthetic importance" - but this was lifted after no UK buyer came forward.

Spencer Compton, the second Marquis of Northampton, acquired Sekhemka during a trip to Egypt in 1850. It was presented to Northampton Museum by his son some years later.