Museums Association mulls throwing out council over sale of Egyptian statue

The ethics committee of the Museums Association will next month (1 October) consider whether to bar a borough council from membership over its controversial £8m sale of an Egyptian statue.

Northampton Borough Council plans to use funds raised by the sale of the 4,000-year-old Sekhemka statue to develop the town’s museum and art gallery. It has begun negotiations with Northamptonshire County Council over the purchase of buildings next to the museum.

Sharon Heal, Head of Policy at the Museums Association, said it had been concerned for some time at financially motivated disposals by local autorities.

The Association plans to hold a ‘collections at risk’ summit to discuss these issues with other organisations such as the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Arts Council.

The borough council said: "We are waiting to hear from Arts Council England and once we have considered their response we will comment further on how we intend to respond to the Museums Association."