Ken's Korner: Egyptian statue is assessed at $3M

Ken’s Korner: Egyptian statue is assessed at $3M

Ken’s Korner
News & Views From the World of Antiques & Collectibles
By Ken Hall
Egyptian statue is assessed at $3M

An unassuming 30-inch-tall limestone Egyptian statue that has been sitting in a museum collection in Northampton, England for the last 150 years has recently been assessed – at around $3 million. Town officials had no idea, and are now deciding whether to sell the artifact to fund local history projects. The statue depicts Sekhemka, a high official in dynastic Egypt from about 2400 BC. It is thought to have been brought to England by Spencer Joshua Alwyne Compton, a 19th century aristocrat and second Marquis of Northampton. It is believed he picked up the piece on a trip to Egypt in 1850, shortly before his death in 1851.