Spot The Difference: Chinese Counterfeit Sphinx Harmful To Egyptian Cultural Heritage

Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery but the Egyptian government was neither amused nor flattered to discover that a replica of the popular Sphinx has been mounted in the Hebel Province in China. The Great Sphinx, a limestone statue and the world's largest monolith stands on the bank of the River Nile in Giza, Egypt.
The Sphinx is a mythical creature and is an ancient Egyptian cultural symbol

The Chinese counterfeit Sphinx consists of reinforced steel and a concrete body and is estimated to have cost 8 million yuan ($1.3 million).

According to Egypt's Antiquities Minister, Mohammed Ibrahim, Egypt would file a complaint with UNESCO urging the UN body to implement the 1972 UNESCO Convention protecting world cultural and natural heritage. The text of the Convention can be viewed here.



The Chinese reproduction of the Sphinx has taken the country's reputation for counterfeiting to a new level with Egypt claiming that the fake Sphinx is harmful to the cultural heritage of Egypt.