Cairo: Egyptian authorities are seeking to prevent the auction of a stone sculpture of King Tutankhamun.
The Foreign Ministry demanded that London auction house Christie’s halt the event, which will be held next month.
In a recent interview with ABC News, archaeologist Zahi Hawass said that the statue was probably stolen from Luxor's Karnak Temple.
The renowned Egyptian led many campaigns to repatriate Egyptian artifacts from abroad.
Meanwhile, Christie's officials defended the planned auction, saying that the process was legal.
"Ancient objects by their nature cannot be traced over millennia. It is hugely important to establish recent ownership and legal right to sell, which we have clearly done," they said in a statement.