Egyptian Government in Late Legal Challenge

From: Ahram.org.eg
Full story: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/105605.aspx

"Egyptian Antiquities Minister Mamdouh El-Damati has denounced the sale of the statue and described the museum's actions as incompatible with the values and role of museums worldwide, which he said should "spread culture" and not try to simply earn money."

"He called on the International Council of Museums (ICOM) to stop the sale on the grounds that it goes against the council's ethics."

Please sign and share our petition https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-the-sale-of-sekhemka-by-northampton-council

Then read the full story here:

http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/105605.aspx

Three Days to go until #DayOfShame

Planned sale is at Christies, London on 10th July but there is still time to do something.

The current situation and petition to sign and share is here: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-the-sale-of-sekhemka-by-northampton-council

Please also see the statement from Museum's Association on the detrimental impact on the future of the museum should the sale go ahead: http://www.museumsassociation.org/news/01072014-ma-urges-northampton-to-rethink-statue-sale#.U7SZk_ldWSo

Please contact your councillor and leader of the council, David Mackintosh directly to express your feelings on the sale. Details here: http://www.northamptonboroughcouncil.com/councillors/mgMemberIndex.aspx?bcr=1

Please follow us on Twitter and Facebook and share our tweets and posts so we can reach as many people as possible in the short time we have left to stop the sale.

Video showcasing Sekhemka goes online at Christies

A beautiful video, produced in terrible circumstances. If the sale goes ahead, it will be a sad and shameful day for Northampton.

Sekhemka has already left Northampton - Video

It would appear Sekhemka has already left Northampton - in the video below you can see him now on display at Christie's ahead of the auction.


And the shocking news of the sale has now reached Australia... click here to read the article

Presentation (on behalf of Sue Edwards) by Judith Hodgkinson to Full (Northampton Borough) Council re Proposed Sale of Sekhemka 2nd June 2014

Judith Hodgkinson, Lecturer, previously employed in Northampton’s Museum Service for 32 years.

The Chair of the Save Sekhemka Action Group, Gunilla Loe, is not absent because of the undue intimidation which has been directed at her, but because she is unavailable tonight.

You are all aware of the background to the proposed sale of Sekhemka on 10th July at Christie’s Auction House in London.

Making a legal case for the sale came after the decision to sell.

Every major museum and arts body opposes the sale on the grounds that it is unethical.  

Should the sale go through, it is almost certain that our Museum will lose Accreditation – the professional equivalent of being struck off – and will not be entitled to any future grants from which it has benefited to the tune of many hundreds of thousands of pounds in the past.

So far NBC has spent over £40,000 to override the 4th Marquis of Northampton’s apparently       watertight deed drawn up for the benefit of local people. 

Councillor Mackintosh says this sale is legal but refuses to show any member of the public the new documentation or agreement drawn up between NBC and the Marquis.  Christie’s response is quote ‘Northampton Borough Council believe they have full title, however, following legal discussions with Lord Northampton an agreement has been reached’ end of quote.  When did the word ‘believe’ become a legal term to use with regard to ownership, and if ownership were clear, why would it need to be a joint agreement?    

The Action Group has asked for the documents to be scrutinized by a qualified legal expert but Councillor Mackintosh refuses.  He also refuses to answer many of our legitimate questions and refers us to Freedom of Information, which still results in unanswered questions or answers extensively redacted. If the new documentation is legal, why all the secrecy?

The sale should be stopped or at the very least postponed for further enquiries as to legality.  Is it appropriate morally and ethically for a public body, charged with proper guardianship of the public purse, to act in this manner?  

The recent announcement in the Chronicle and Echo shows plans for a museum extension costing £14 million.  Even if the sale were to go ahead, if the Council is no longer eligible for grants, where will the rest of the money come from?   

Presentation by Ruth Thomas at Full (Northampton Borough) Council re Proposed Sale of Sekhemka

Ruth Thomas (Chair of Northamptonshire Ancient Egyptian Society)

   

 Much has been said about the proposed sale of Sekhemka; I would like to spend a few minutes outlining some consequences:

If moral and ethical considerations mean nothing to Councillor Mackintosh then I ask you to consider this. The sale of Sekhemka will yield only a portion of the cost of the proposed new museum. The recent announcement in the Chronicle and Echo showed plans for the extended museum, costing £14,000,000.

Our group has received an email this weekend from the National Art Fund which reads as follows: QUOTE  "Regardless of the final sale amount, due to the nature of the split with Lord Northampton and the need to pay a buyer’s premium, the Museum would only gain less than half of the total amount [raised] towards its planned works. Even without the ethical considerations, this sale therefore seems an ineffective route to pursue for long-term financial gain." UNQUOTE

The bulk of the finance needed for the museum would normally come from grants through government organisations which support heritage and museums. However, since the Museums Association and Arts Council have made it clear in the national press that Northampton Museum will lose its accreditation if the sale takes place, there will be no possibility of applying for a grant. Northampton Museum will simply not get the funding.

The proposed sale of Sekhemka is a bad move for Northampton Museum and not only because it makes Northampton Museum a pariah in the professional world of museums and heritage. It doesn’t even make financial sense ! The money raised from the proposed sale will be heavily outweighed by the loss of grants and financial support from government organisations. 

The Arts Council acknowledge the seriousness of the situation QUOTE: “We recognise through their actions that Northampton Borough Council does not care about losing accreditation” and that as a result of the proposed sale they say “grants and placements will not be possible in the future.” QUOTE

I would like to place on record this clear statement that the development of the museum and its collections are now under serious threat.

One Year On... Saving Sekhemka

One Year On – what happened next in the Save Sekhemka Campaign:

... well, as far as the Save Sekhemka Action Group knows the statue is still at its secret Northampton Borough Council (NBC) location and UNSOLD!

Sadly it is also impossible for a member of the public to view the statue despite several requests. We doubt that this is legal since any member of the public has a right to see any item in a museum collection unless it is too fragile. Sekhemka is not fragile nor are the insurance conditions imposed on NBC by their insurers such that extra security is needed to see it.

The Action Group would rather have the statue, the rest of the Egyptian collection and the Mineral collection back on display in the town’s museums in accordance with the conditions set out in the Deed of Gift of 1880; our campaign will continue until this happens.

The Deed of Gift was published in the June issue of the Museums Journal when Lord Northampton made it available to them. It is still the subject of legal wrangling between Lord Northampton and NBC. 

The Action Group interprets the Deed as either being a Charitable Gift held in trust by NBC for the people of Northampton or a Long Term Loan with Conditions. 

In the first case NBC cannot sell it unless the Charity Commission should be very lenient, in the second the collections would revert to Lord Northampton since NBC has not complied with the conditions. The Action Group has researched all of the above information and ensured that it was made public. We have also alerted the Art Loss Register and the Export Licensing Board to ensure none of the collections go abroad. 

This ALL means that NO reputable auction house will agree to sell either Sekhemka or any part of the collections.

The publicity the Action Group has created has spread and NBC and its actions are now cited worldwide as an example not to be followed. Is this what a town aspiring to city status should be proud of?

One year on ... the Action Group has STOPPED THE SALE and created an impasse for NBC. Not bad for half a dozen people with no funding but fired by enthusiasm and quietly backed by various cultural organisations nationwide. The campaign goes on so please support us, write to your councillor, ask to see the statue and keep an eye on our website (www.sekhemka.co.uk) for the latest developments.

Gunilla Loe
Chair, Save Sekhemka Action Group