The ministry said it had deliberately delayed announcing the bracelet’s disappearance “to ensure an appropriate environment for the progress of investigations”, but it did not mention when the piece of jewellery was last seen.
Egyptian newspaper, Al-Misri al-Yawm, reported that the disappearance was detected in recent days as museum staff were preparing to ship dozens of artefacts to Rome for an exhibition which is due to open next month.
The Egyptian Museum in Cairo is the oldest archaeological museum in the Middle East. It houses more than 170,000 artefacts, including Amenemope’s gilded wooden funerary mask.
The bracelet’s disappearance comes six weeks before the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum in nearby Giza, where the world renowned treasures of King Tutankhamun’s tomb have been transferred and will go on display.