A collection of ancient Egyptian urns is making a short trip across Santa Cruz to be exhibited at the city's Natural and Human History Museum.
The transfer of the thirteen priceless urns has been agreed between the Tenerife Cabildo's Heritage Department and their current owners, the Santa Cruz Council. The rare vases have been stored in the Fine Arts Museum, owned by the Santa Cruz Council, after arriving in the early 1900s.
The vases, all of which are at least 2,500 years old, were shipped to Tenerife one century ago from their previous home in the Liverpool Museum. The oldest urn is believed to be almost 5,000 years old, and it is claimed to be the oldest Egyptian artefact in Spain. The curator of the museum offered the vases in exchange of some Dutch ceramic roof tiles from the 17th century that caught his attention in 1908, during a business visit to Santa Cruz.
The majority of the Liverpool Museum's remaining Egyptian collection was unfortunately demolished by German bombing during World War II.
