Egyptian statue that cost council £440,000 is a forgery

A father aged 84 and his son have been charged over the £440,000 sale of an allegedly fake Egyptian statue.

The Amarna Princess was bought in 2003 by Bolton Council, which believed it was a 3,300-year-old antiquity.

Experts determined the 20in (51cm) sculpture was not genuine, after special tests last year.



George Greenhalgh, 84, and his son Shaun Greenhalgh from Bolton, have been charged with laundering the proceeds of sale of the statue.

The statue was said to represent one of the daughters of Pharaoh Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti, the mother of Tutankhamun.

Only two similar pieces are believed to exist - one is in the Louvre in Paris and the other in a museum in Philadelphia.