Ministers of the Ministry of Antiquitiesbrief history Until the middle of the nineteenth century, there was no legislation concerning the antiquities trade in Egypt. There were thousands of artifacts from jewelry, statues, engravings and even entire monuments that had been removed from their original environment to join private collections or collections of museums around the world. The Western passion for Egyptian antiquities began with the advent of the French Campaign (1798-1801) and the publication of successive volumes of the book "Describing Egypt" which created global interest in Egypt and its ancient monuments.
The first step to limit the removal of Egyptian antiquities outside the country took place on August 15, 1835, when the ruler of Egypt, Mohamed Ali Pasha, issued a decree prohibiting the export and trade of all Egyptian antiquities. This decree also included the construction of a building in the Azbekiya Park in Cairo Archaeology. Unfortunately, these antiquities were usually given by Egypt's rulers to European dignitaries as gifts, and by the mid-nineteenth century the collection of artifacts had diminished until they were moved to a small hall in the castle. In 1855, when Austrian Archbishop Maximilian (a member of the royal family of Austria) visited this hall in Cairo, he was impressed by the archaeological collection and presented to him by the governor of Egypt, Abbas Pasha, and transferred to Vienna.
