Switzerland has returned a more than 2,000-year-old funerary mask to Egypt after it was intercepted by Swiss customs four years ago, the Swiss Embassy in Cairo said on Wednesday.

The ancient mask dates back to Egypt’s Ptolemaic period and was seized by the Swiss customs authorities in 2022. It was subsequently examined and authenticated as an Egyptian artifact. Egypt’s Foreign Ministry described the artifact as “a golden mummy mask.”

The artifact was formally handed over in Bern by Swiss Federal Councilor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider to Egypt’s ambassador to Switzerland, Mohamed Negm.

“This return is another milestone in the longstanding cooperation between Switzerland and Egypt to protect cultural heritage and fight the illicit trafficking of cultural property,” the embassy said. Bern has returned around 80 cultural objects to Egypt since 2011, according to the statement. 

It comes as the North African country steps up efforts to recover antiquities taken abroad illegally. On Thursday, the Egyptian Embassy in Beirut received 74 archaeological artifacts from various historical periods from the Lebanese authorities ahead of their repatriation to Egypt. Cairo said the handover was part of work with Lebanon to protect cultural heritage and combat the illicit trafficking of antiquities.

Egypt has also recovered antiquities from the US as part of its repatriation drive. In April, the country retrieved 13 artifacts that were illegally smuggled abroad, following work with the authorities in New York. The objects included an alabaster jar for oils and perfumes from the 7th century BC, as well as cosmetic containers shaped like animals from the Middle and New Kingdoms of Ancient Egypt.

Also last year, Egyptian officials said 13 artifacts were returned from the UK and Germany. The items include a mummy’s skull and hand, ankh and baboon-shaped amulets, a bronze Osiris crown, and a beaded funerary mask.