[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 230 (Friday, December 3, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 68546-68553]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-26348]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

19 CFR Part 12

[CBP Dec. 21-17]
RIN 1515-AE70


Extension and Amendment of Import Restrictions on Archaeological 
Material and Imposition of Import Restrictions on Ethnological Material 
of Egypt

AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland 
Security; Department of the Treasury.

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This final rule amends the U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
(CBP) regulations to reflect an extension and amendment of import 
restrictions on certain archaeological material and the imposition of 
import restrictions on ethnological material of the Arab Republic of 
Egypt (Egypt). The restrictions on archaeological material, which were 
originally imposed by CBP Dec. 16-23, were extended and amended on 
November 30, 2021. The Acting Assistant Secretary for Educational and 
Cultural Affairs, United States Department of State, has made the 
requisite determinations for extending and updating the import 
restrictions that previously existed, and the Governments of the United 
States and Egypt entered into a new agreement to reflect the extension 
of these import restrictions. Additionally, the Acting Assistant 
Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs, United States 
Department of State, has made the requisite determinations for adding 
import restrictions on certain categories of ethnological material. The 
new agreement, which entered into force on November 30, 2021, 
supersedes the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that became 
effective on November 30, 2016, and enabled the promulgation of the 
existing import restrictions. Accordingly, the current import 
restrictions and new import restrictions will be effective until 
November 30, 2026, and the CBP regulations are being amended to reflect 
this extension and imposition. To fulfill the terms of the new MOU, the 
Designated List of cultural property, which was described in CBP Dec. 
16-23, is amended in this document to reflect the addition and revision 
of categories of archaeological material of Egypt ranging in date from 
approximately 300,000 B.C. to A.D. 1750, and to include certain 
ethnological material ranging from A.D. 1517 to 1914.

DATES: Effective on December 1, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For legal aspects, W. Richmond 
Beevers, Chief, Cargo Security, Carriers and Restricted Merchandise 
Branch, Regulations and Rulings, Office of Trade, (202) 325-0084, [email protected]. For operational aspects, Julie L. 
Stoeber, Chief, 1USG Branch, Trade Policy and Programs, Office of 
Trade, (202) 945-7064, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Pursuant to the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act, 
Public Law 97-446, 19 U.S.C. 2601 et seq. (hereinafter, ``the Cultural 
Property Implementation Act''), which implements the 1970 United 
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 
Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit 
Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property 
(hereinafter, ``the Convention'' (823 U.N.T.S. 231 (1972)), the United 
States entered into a bilateral agreement with the Arab Republic of 
Egypt (Egypt) on November 30, 2016. The Memorandum of Understanding 
(MOU) enabled the promulgation of import restrictions on certain 
archaeological material representing Egypt's cultural heritage ranging 
from approximately 300,000 B.C. to A.D. 1750.
    On December 6, 2016, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 
published CBP Dec. 16-23 in the Federal Register (81 FR 87805), which 
amended Sec.  12.104g(a) of title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(19 CFR 12.104g(a)) to reflect the imposition of import restrictions 
and included a list designating the types of archaeological material 
covered by the restrictions.
    Import restrictions listed at 19 CFR 12.104g(a) are effective for 
no more than five years beginning on the date on which the agreement 
enters into force with respect to the United States. This period may be 
extended for additional periods of not more than five years if it is 
determined that the factors which justified the initial agreement still 
pertain and no cause for suspension of the agreement exists. See 19 CFR 
12.104g(a).
    On February 5, 2021, the United States Department of State proposed 
in the Federal Register (86 FR 8476), to extend and amend the MOU 
between the United States and Egypt concerning the import restrictions 
on certain categories of archeological material of Egypt. On August 15, 
2021, after consultation with and recommendations by the Cultural 
Property Advisory Committee, the Acting Assistant Secretary for 
Educational and Cultural Affairs, United States Department of State, 
determined that: (1) Egypt's cultural heritage continues to be in 
jeopardy from pillage of archeological resources and that the import 
restrictions should be updated and extended for an additional five 
years; and (2) Egypt's cultural heritage is in jeopardy from pillage of 
certain types of ethnological material, from Egypt, ranging in date 
from A.D. 1517 to A.D. 1914, and import restrictions on such types of 
ethnological material should be imposed.
    Subsequently, on November 30, 2021, the Governments of the United 
States and Egypt entered into a new agreement, titled ``Memorandum of 
Understanding Between the Government of the United States of America 
and the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt Concerning the 
Imposition of Import Restrictions on Categories of Cultural Property of 
Egypt.'' The new MOU supersedes the existing agreement that first 
entered into force on November 30, 2016. Pursuant to the new MOU, the 
import restrictions for archaeological material are updated and will be 
effective until November 30, 2026, along with the imposition of 
additional import restrictions on certain categories of ethnological 
material, which will also be effective until November 30, 2026.
    Accordingly, CBP is amending 19 CFR 12.104g(a) to reflect the 
extension of the import restrictions and amending the Designated List 
of cultural property described in CBP Dec. 16-23 with the addition and 
revision of categories of archaeological material of Egypt ranging in 
date from approximately 300,000 B.C. to A.D. 1750, as set forth below. 
The Designated List of cultural property described in CBP Dec. 16-23 is 
also amended by adding certain categories of ethnological material of 
Egypt ranging

[[Page 68547]]

in date from A.D. 1517 to 1914, as set forth below. The restrictions on 
the importation of archaeological and ethnological material will be in 
effect through November 30, 2026. Importation of such material of 
Egypt, as described in the Designated List below, will be restricted 
through that date unless the conditions set forth in 19 U.S.C. 2606 and 
19 CFR 12.104c are met.
    The Designated List and additional information may also be found at 
the following website address: https://eca.state.gov/cultural-heritage-center/cultural-property-advisory-committee/current-import-restrictions 
by selecting the material for ``Egypt.''

Designated List of Archaeological and Ethnological Material of Egypt

    The Designated List contained in CBP Dec. 16-23, which describes 
the types of articles to which the import restrictions apply, is 
amended to reflect the inclusion of additional archaeological material 
and certain ethnological material in the Designated List. In order to 
clarify certain provisions of the Designated List contained in CBP Dec. 
16-23, the amendment also includes minor revisions to the language and 
numbering of the Designated List. For the reader's convenience, CBP is 
reproducing the Designated List contained in CBP Dec. 16-23 in its 
entirety, with the changes, below.
    The Designated List includes archaeological material from Egypt 
ranging in date from approximately 300,000 B.C. to A.D. 1750, and 
certain ethnological material from Egypt ranging in date from A.D. 1517 
to 1914.

Categories of Archaeological and Ethnological Material

I. Archaeological
    A. Stone
    B. Metal
    C. Ceramic and Clay
    D. Wood
    E. Faience and Glass
    F. Ivory, Bone, and Shell
    G. Plaster and Cartonnage
    H. Textile, Basketry, and Rope
    I. Leather and Parchment
    J. Papyrus
    K. Painting and Drawing
    L. Mosaics
    M. Writing
    N. Human and Animal Remains
II. Ethnological
    A. Stone
    B. Metal
    C. Ceramic and Clay
    D. Wood
    E. Bone, Ivory, and Shell
    F. Glass and Semi-Precious Stone
    G. Leather, Parchment, and Paper
    H. Textiles

    Approximate chronology of well-known periods and sites:

(a) Paleolithic period (c. 300,000-8800 B.C.): Bir Sahara East, Bir 
Tarfawi, el-Kab (Nekheb), Jebel Sahaba, Taramsa-1, Wadi Tushka
(b) Neolithic period (c. 8800-4000 B.C.): Armant, Bir Kiseiba, Deir 
Tasa, el-Badari, el-Omari, el Tarif, Hammamiya, Hierakonpolis (Nekhen), 
Merimde Beni-salame, Nabta Playa
(c) Predynastic period (c. 4000-3200 B.C.): Abydos, Ada[iuml]ma, Deir 
el Ballas, el-Amra, el-Badari, el-Mahasna, Gerza, Hierakonpolis 
(Nekhen), Ma'adi, Minshat Abu Omar, Mostagedda, Naga ed-Deir, Naqada, 
Tell el-Fara'in (Buto), Tell el-Farkha, Tjenu (Thinis), Wadi Digla
(d) Early Dynastic period (c. 3200-2686 B.C.): Abusir, Abydos, Coptos/
Koptos, Giza, Elephantine, Memphis, Minshat Abu Omar, Helwan, 
Hierakonpolis (Nekhen), Saqqara, Tarkhan, Tell el-Fara'in (Buto), Tell 
el-Farkha
(e) Old Kingdom period (c. 2686-2125 B.C.): Ayn Sokhna, Abu Ghurob, 
Abusir, Abydos, Aswan, Bet Khallaf, Dashur, Dendera, Elephantine, Giza, 
Heliopolis, Hierakonpolis (Nekhen), Kom el-Hisn, Maidum/Meidum, 
Memphis, Naga el-Deir, Naqada, Sais, Saqqara, Tell Edfu, Wadi Maghara, 
Zawiyet el-Aryan
(f) First Intermediate period (c. 2125-2055 B.C.): Asyut, Hierakonpolis 
(Nekhen), Ihnasya el-Medina (Herakleopolis), Kom Dara, Memphis, Naga 
el-Dier, Saqqara, Tell Edfu
(g) Middle Kingdom period (c. 2055-1650 B.C.): Asyut, Abydos, Beni 
Hasan, Dashur, Deir el-Bahri, Crocodopolis (Fayum) Deir el Ballas, 
Hawara, Elephantine, Heliopolis, Herakleopolis, Hierakonpolis (Nekhen), 
Kahun, Karnak/Thebes, Lisht, Memphis, Qau el-Kebir, Tell el-Dab'a 
(Avaris), Tell Edfu, Wadi Hammamat, Wadi el-Hudi
(h) Second Intermediate period (c. 1650-1550 B.C.): Abydos, Bubastis, 
Tell el-Daba, Karnak/Thebes, Deir el Ballas, el-Kab, Memphis, Tell el-
Yahudiyeh, Tura
(i) New Kingdom period (c. 1550-1069 B.C.): Abydos, Abu Simbel, Akhmim, 
Armant, Asyut, Aswan, Bubastis, Coptos/Koptos, Dakhla Oasis, Deir el-
Medina, Dendera, Elephantine, Heliopolis, Hermopolis, el-Kab, Karnak/
Thebes, Kharga Oasis, Luxor, Medamud, Memphis, Qantir, Saqqara, Serabit 
el-Khadim, Tell el-Amarna, Tell el-Daba, Tod, Wadi Hammamat, Wadi 
Natron
(j) Third Intermediate period (c. 1069-664 B.C.): Abusir, Armant, 
Bubastis, Elephantine, el-Kab, el-Asasif, el-Hiba, Herakleopolis, 
Hermopolis, Karnak/Thebes, Kharga Oasis, Leontopolis, Memphis, Tell el-
Fara'in (Buto), Tanis, Tell Defanna, Tell el Herr, Tell el-Maskhuta, 
Tanis, Wadi Tumilat
(k) Late period (c. 664-332 B.C.): Bubastis, Busiris, Dendera, 
Heliopolis, Herakleopolis, Hermopolis, el-Hiba, Karnak/Luxor, Kom Ombo, 
Kharga Oasis, Memphis, Mendes, Philae, Sais, Saqqara, Sebennytos, Siwa 
Oasis, Tell Edfu
(l) Greco-Roman/Ptolemaic period (332 B.C.-A.D. 395): Abu Sha'ar, Ain 
el-Tabinieh, Alexandria, Amheida (Trimithis), Antino[ouml]polis, 
Antinoe, Aswan (Syene), Bahariya Oasis, Berenike, Busiris, Canopus, 
Coptos/Koptos, Dakhla Oasis, Damietta, Dendera, Farafra Oasis, el-Haiz, 
Karanis, Kellis, Kharga Oasis, Kom Ombo, Hawara, Marina al-Alamein, 
Medinet Madi, Memphis, Naukratis, Oxyrhynchus, Philae, Ptolemais, 
Quseir el-Qadim (Myos Hormos), Soknopaiou Nesos, Tebtynis (Tebtunis), 
Tell Edfu
(m) Byzantine period (c. A.D. 395-640): Abu Fano, Alexandria, el-Kab, 
Abu Mina, Arsinoe, Aswan, Athribis (both Delta Athribis and Sohag 
Athribis), Bawit, Coptos/Koptos, Dakhla Oasis, Dayr el-Muharraq, 
Dendur, Douch, Tell Edfu, Fayoum monasteries (Dayr al-Malek Gabriel), 
Herakleopolis Magna, Hermopolis Magna (city and necropolis Tuna el-
Gebel), Jeme (Medinet Habu), Karanis, Kellia, Kharga Oasis, Kom el-
Dikka, Medinet Madi, Menouthis, Mons Claudianus, Mons Porpyrites, Mount 
Sinai, Nag Hammadi, Old Cairo, Oxyrhynchos, Panopolis (Akhmim) and area 
monasteries, Pelusion, Philae, Raithou, Red Sea Monasteries (SS. Antony 
and Paul), Saqqara, Sinai, Sohag, Tall al-Farama, Tell el-Amarna, 
Thebes, Wadi Natrun, Wadi Pharan (Sinai, Monastery)
(n) Islamic/Medieval period (A.D. 640-1517): Alexandria, al-Ashmunayn, 
Aswan, Athribis (Sohag), Aydhab, al-Bahnasa, al-Fustat, al-Rashid 
(Rosetta), Antinoopolis, Aswan, Cairo, Damietta, Tell Edfu, Giza, 
Hamouli, Jeme, Luxor, Madinat al-Fayyum, Minya, Q[umacr]s, Qusayr, Red

[[Page 68548]]

Sea Monasteries (SS. Antony and Paul), Rosetta, Sohag, Thebes, Wadi 
Natrun
(o) Ottoman and early Muhammad `Ali periods (A.D. 1517-1914): 
Alexandria, al-Rashid (Rosetta), Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, Damietta, Ibrim, 
Red Sea Monasteries (SS. Antony and Paul), Tanta, Qusayr, Salihiyya, 
Suez, Thebes

I. Archaeological Material

    Archaeological material includes categories of objects from the 
Paleolithic to the middle of the Ottoman period in Egypt, ranging in 
date from approximately 300,000 B.C. to A.D. 1750.
    A. Stone
    1. Sculpture
    i. Architectural Elements--This category includes architectural 
elements from temples, tombs, palaces, mosques, churches, monasteries, 
commemorative monuments, and domestic architecture, including doors, 
door frames, window fittings, columns, capitals, bases, lintels, jambs, 
roofs, pediment, archways, friezes, pilasters, engaged columns, prayer 
niches (mihrabs), fountains, inlays, and blocks from walls, floors, and 
ceilings. Examples are often decorated in relief with ornamental 
Pharaonic, Greco-Roman, Coptic, and Islamic motifs and inscriptions. 
Limestone, sandstone, and granite are most commonly used. Stone is 
often reused.
    ii. Statues--Types include large- and small-scale representations 
of humans, animals, and hybrid figures with a human body and animal 
head. Human figures may be standing, usually with the left foot 
forward, seated on a block or on the ground, kneeling, or prone. 
Figures in stone may be supported by a slab of stone at the back. 
Greco-Roman examples use traditional Egyptian poses with Hellenistic 
modeling. Limestone, granite, basalt, sandstone (including greywacke), 
and diorite are most commonly used. Reuse of statues is common with re-
inscription of cartouche and other visible re-carving.
    iii. Relief Sculpture--Types include large- and small-scale 
sculpture, including Neolithic and Predynastic greywacke votive and 
cosmetic palettes, limestone wall reliefs depicting scenes of daily 
life and rituals, and steles/stelae and plaques in a variety of stones 
for funerary and commemorative purposes.
    iv. Tombstones--This category includes tombstones and grave markers 
made of marble, limestone, or other kinds of stone. They may be carved 
in relief and/or have decorative moldings.
    2. Vessels and Containers--This category includes conventional 
shapes such as bowls, cups, jars, and lamps. This category also 
includes vessels having the form of human, animal, hybrid, plant, 
hieroglyphic signs, and combinations or parts thereof.
    3. Funerary Objects and Equipment
    i. Sarcophagi and Coffins--This category includes sarcophagi and 
coffins with separate lids, either in the form of a large rectangular 
box, or human-shaped (anthropoid) and carved with modeled human 
features. Both types are often decorated outside, and sometimes inside, 
with incised or painted images and text inscriptions.
    ii. Canopic Shrines--This category includes shrines in the form of 
a box with space inside for four canopic jars.
    iii. Canopic Jars--This category includes jars with plain lids or 
lids in the form of human or animal heads and used to hold the internal 
organs of the deceased. A full set includes four jars. Sometimes these 
jars are dummies, carved from a single piece of stone with no interior 
space.
    4. Objects of Daily Use--This category includes chests and boxes, 
furniture, headrests, writing and painting equipment, games, and game 
pieces.
    5. Tools and Weapons--Chipped stone types include large and small 
blades, borers, scrapers, sickles, burins, notches, retouched flakes, 
cleavers, knives, chisels, awls, harpoons, cores, loom weights, and 
arrowheads. Ground stone types include grinders (e.g., mortars, 
pestles, millstones, whetstones, querns), choppers, axes, hammers, 
molds, weights, and mace heads.
    6. Jewelry, Amulets, and Seals
    i. Jewelry--This category includes jewelry of colored and semi-
precious stones for personal adornment, including necklaces, chokers, 
pectorals, pendants, crowns, earrings, bracelets, anklets, belts, 
girdles, aprons, and finger rings.
    ii. Amulets--This category includes amulets of colored and semi-
precious stones in the form of humans, animals, hybrids, plants, 
hieroglyphic signs, and combinations or parts thereof.
    iii. Stamp and Cylinder Seals--These are small devices with at 
least one side engraved (in intaglio and relief) with a design for 
stamping or sealing. The most common type is the scarab, in the form of 
a beetle with an inscription on the flat base.
    7. Ostraca--Chips of stone used as surfaces for writing or drawing.
    B. Metal
    1. Sculpture
    i. Statues--Types include large- and small-scale, including human, 
animal, and hybrid figures similar to those in stone. Metal statues 
usually lack the support at the back. The most common materials are 
bronze and copper alloys, but gold and silver are used as well.
    ii. Relief sculpture--Types include plaques, appliques, and mummy 
masks. Reliefs may include inscriptions in various languages.
    2. Vessels and Containers--This category includes conventional 
shapes such as bowls, cups, jars, plates, cauldrons, lamps, lampstands, 
scroll and manuscript containers, reliquaries, incense burners, and 
vessels in the form of humans, animals, hybrids, plants, hieroglyphic 
signs, and combinations or parts thereof.
    3. Objects of Daily Use--This category includes musical 
instruments, including trumpets, clappers, and sistra.
    4. Tools--Types include axes, adzes, saws, scrapers, trowels, 
locks, keys, nails, hinges, mirrors, ingots, thimbles, fibulae (for 
pinning clothing), drills, chisels, knives, hooks, needles, tongs, 
tweezers, and weights in copper alloy, bronze, and iron.
    5. Weapons and Armor
    i. Weapons--Types include mace heads, knives, daggers, swords, 
curved swords, axes, arrows, javelins, arrowheads, and spears in copper 
alloy, bronze, and iron.
    ii. Armor--Early armor consisted of small metal scales, originally 
sewn to a backing of cloth or leather, later augmented by helmets, body 
armor (cuirasses, bracers, shin guards), shields, and horse armor.
    6. Jewelry, Amulets, and Seals
    i. Jewelry--This category includes jewelry made of gold, silver, 
copper, and iron for personal adornment, including necklaces, chokers, 
pectorals, finger rings, beads, pendants, bells, belts, buckles, 
earrings, diadems, straight pins and fibulae, bracelets, anklets, 
girdles, wreaths and crowns, cosmetic accessories and tools, metal 
strigils (scrapers), crosses, and lamp holders.
    ii. Amulets--Types include amulets in the form of humans, human 
organs and parts, animals, hybrids, plants, hieroglyphic signs, 
deities, religious symbols, and combinations or parts thereof.
    7. Late Antique Christian, Greek Orthodox, and Coptic Liturgical 
Objects--Types include censers, crosses, Bible caskets, lamps, patens, 
Eucharistic goblets, icons, and iconostases.
    8. Coins--Types appear in copper or bronze, silver, and gold.
    i. Dynasty 30--Coins of this type have the hieroglyphs nwb nfr on 
one side and a horse on the other.
    ii. Dynasty 31--Coins of this type are Egyptian imitations of 
silver Athenian coins that depict the helmeted head of

[[Page 68549]]

Athena on the obverse and owl on the reverse with an inscription in 
Demotic (looks cursive) to the right of the owl. There are similar 
coins in silver but with an inscription in Aramaic (look angular) to 
the right of the owl. The former were struck under the authority of the 
Persian Great King Artaxerxes III when he recaptured Egypt in the mid-
4th B.C.; the latter were struck under the Persian satraps of Egypt 
Sabaces and Mazakes in the 330s B.C. There are rare silver drachms 
marked NAU (Naucratis) instead of A[Theta]E.
    iii. Hellenistic and Ptolemaic--Coins of this type are struck in 
gold, silver, and bronze at Alexandria and any other mints that 
operated within the borders of the modern Egyptian state. Gold coins of 
and in honor of Alexander the Great, struck at Alexandria and Memphis, 
depict a helmeted bust of Athena on the obverse and a winged Victory on 
the reverse. Silver coins of Alexander the Great, struck at Alexandria 
and Memphis, depict a bust of Herakles wearing the lion skin on the 
obverse, or ``heads'' side, and a seated statue of Olympian Zeus on the 
reverse, or ``tails'' side. Gold coins of the Ptolemies from Egypt will 
have jugate portraits on both obverse and reverse, a portrait of the 
king on the obverse and a cornucopia on the reverse, or a jugate 
portrait of the king and queen on the obverse and cornucopias on the 
reverse. Silver coins of the Ptolemies from Egypt tend to depict a 
portrait of Alexander wearing an elephant skin on the obverse and 
Athena on the reverse or a portrait of the reigning king with an eagle 
on the reverse. Some silver coins have jugate portraits of the king and 
queen on the obverse. Bronze coins of the Ptolemies commonly depict a 
head of Zeus (bearded) on the obverse and an eagle on the reverse. 
These iconographical descriptions are non-exclusive and describe only 
some of the more common examples. There are other types and variants 
among the Hellenistic and Ptolemaic coinage. Approximate date: ca. 332 
B.C. through ca. 31 B.C.
    iv. Roman--Coins of this type are struck in bronze, silver, or gold 
at Alexandria and any other mints that operated within the borders of 
the modern Egyptian state until approx. A.D. 498. The iconography of 
the coinage in the Roman period varied widely, although a portrait of 
the reigning emperor is almost always present on the obverse of the 
coin. Approximate dates: ca. 31 B.C. through ca. A.D. 498.
    v. Byzantine and Arab Byzantine--Coins of these types are struck in 
bronze and gold at Alexandria, Fustat, and other mints that operated 
within the borders of the modern Egyptian state between A.D. 498 and 
ca. A.D. 696. Iconography may include one, two, or three persons (busts 
or standing figures); large letters in Latin script (sometimes with 
smaller Latin, Greek, or Arabic letters along the edge); and crosses, 
stars, moons, and other symbols.
    vi. Islamic/Medieval and Ottoman--Coins of this type are struck in 
copper, bronze, silver, and gold at Cairo, Fustat, Alexandria, and 
other mints that operated within the borders of the modern Egyptian 
state under the Umayyad, `Abbasid, Tulunid, Ikhshidid, Fatimid, 
Ayyubid, Mamluk, and Ottoman (up to A.D. 1750) dynasties. Iconography 
is mostly writing in Arabic script, sometimes with stars, circles, 
flowers, or other ornaments placed at center or among the text, and 
rarely with human figures or trees.
    C. Ceramic and Clay
    1. Sculpture--This category includes terracotta statues and 
statuettes (figurines), including human, animal, and hybrid figures. 
Ceramic sculptures may be undecorated or decorated with paint, 
appliques, or inscribed lines.
    2. Architectural Decorations--These are baked clay (terracotta) 
elements used to decorate buildings. Examples include carved and molded 
brick, panels, acroteria, antefixes, painted and relief plaques, 
revetments, carved and molded bricks, knobs, plain or glazed roof 
tiles, and glazed tile wall ornaments and panels.
    3. Vessels and Containers
    i. Neolithic--Types are made of red Nile clay with blackened rim, 
thin walls, and rippled surface. Others have smoothed surfaces, but 
otherwise plain. Decorations may include painting or incised designs.
    ii. Predynastic Period--Types typically have a burnished red body 
with or without a white-painted decoration, or a burnished red body and 
black top, or a burnished black body sometimes with incised decoration, 
or an unburnished light brown body with dark red painted decoration, 
including human and animal figures and boats, spirals, or an abstract 
design.
    iv. Dynastic Periods--Types are primarily utilitarian but also come 
as ornate forms, typically undecorated and sometimes burnished. New 
Kingdom examples may have elaborate painted, incised, and molded 
decorations, especially floral motifs depicted in blue paint.
    v. Greco-Roman Period--Types include vessels with riled decoration, 
pilgrim flasks, and terra sigillata, a high-quality table ware made of 
red to reddish brown clay and covered with a glossy slip.
    vi. Byzantine Period/Coptic--pilgrim flasks and decorated ceramic 
jars and bowls.
    vii. Islamic/Medieval and Ottoman Periods--Types include glazed, 
molded, and painted forms in a variety of shapes and sizes.
    4. Coffins--This category includes baked clay coffins, either 
rectangular or human-shaped (anthropoid). Examples are sometimes 
painted.
    5. Objects of Daily Use--This category includes game pieces carved 
from ceramic sherds, loom weights, toys, incense burners, tobacco 
pipes, andirons, and lamps.
    6. Writing
    i. Ostraca--Ostraca are pottery sherds used as surfaces for writing 
or drawing.
    ii. Cuneiform Tablets--These objects are typically small pillow-
shaped rectangles of unbaked clay incised with patterns of wedge-shaped 
cuneiform symbols.
    D. Wood
    1. Sculpture
    i. Statues--Types include large- and small-scale examples, 
including human, animal, and hybrid figures. Shabti statuettes and 
small mummiform human figures are especially common. Wood statues 
usually lack the support at the back.
    ii. Relief sculpture--Types include large- and small-scale 
examples, including relief plaques for funerary purposes.
    2. Architectural Elements
    i. Late Antique Christian, Greek Orthodox, and Coptic--This 
category includes carved and inlaid panels, doors, ceilings, altars, 
episcopal thrones, pulpits, lecterns, and iconostases, often decorated 
with floral, geometric, and Christian motifs.
    ii. Islamic/Medieval--This category includes carved and inlaid wood 
rooms, balconies, stages, panels, ceilings, and doors.
    3. Funerary Objects and Equipment
    i. Sarcophagi and Coffins--This category includes sarcophagi and 
coffins with separate lid, either in the form of a large rectangular 
box or human-shaped and carved with modeled human features. Both types 
are often decorated inside and outside with painted, inlaid, or incised 
images, and with inscriptions.
    ii. Mummy masks--This category includes masks that were laid over 
the face of the deceased. They were often painted, inlaid, and covered 
with gold foil.
    iii. Funerary models--Types include boats, buildings, food, and 
activities from everyday life.
    iv. Shrines--This category includes shrines used to house 
sarcophagi or statuettes of deities.

[[Page 68550]]

    v. Food Containers--Types include containers in the shape of the 
product they contain, such as a loaf of bread or a duck.
    4. Objects of Daily Use--This category includes furniture such as 
chairs, stools, beds, chests and boxes, headrests, writing and painting 
equipment, musical instruments, game boxes and pieces, walking sticks, 
chariots, and chariot fittings.
    5. Tools and Weapons--This category includes adzes, axes, bow 
drills, carpenter's levels and squares, bows, arrows, and spears.
    6. Vessels and Containers--This category includes wooden vessels 
and containers including ciboria (Christian shrine-shaped receptacles 
for the Eucharist).
    7. Furniture--This category includes moveable furniture, such as 
iconostases, lecterns, pulpits, and episcopal thrones.
    E. Faience and Glass
    1. Egyptian Faience--This category includes objects made from 
faience: A glossy, silicate-based fired material, is usually blue or 
turquoise, but other colors are found as well. Object types include 
vessels and containers, canopic jars, game pieces, seals, amulets, 
jewelry, inlays, and statuettes in human, animal, and hybrid forms.
    2. Glass
    i. Pharaonic--This category includes parts of statues, and glass 
containers that are typically small and often elaborately decorated 
with multi-colored bands.
    ii. Roman--Types in this category include a great variety of hand-
blown vessel and container shapes.
    iii. Byzantine--Types include hand-blown vessels, hanging lamps, 
and chandeliers (polycandela), painted windows, stained glass, and 
mosaic tesserae.
    iv. Islamic/Medieval and Ottoman--This category includes vessels 
and containers such as glass and enamel mosque and sanctuary lamps, 
coin weights, and architectural elements including glass inlay and 
tesserae pieces from floor and wall mosaics, mirrors, and windowpanes.
    F. Ivory, Bone, and Shell
    1. Sculpture--This category includes statuettes of human, animal, 
and hybrid figures in bone or ivory.
    2. Objects of Daily Use--This category includes writing and 
painting equipment, musical instruments, games, cosmetic containers, 
combs, tools (such as awls, burnishers, needles, spatulas and 
fishhooks), jewelry, amulets, and seals. This category also includes 
inlays of these materials from luxury objects including furniture, 
chests, and boxes.
    3. Reliefs, Plaques, Steles, and Inlays--These are carved and 
sculpted and may have figurative, floral, and/or geometric motifs. 
Examples may also have inscriptions in various languages.
    G. Plaster and Cartonnage
    1. Plaster--This category includes objects made of plaster, such as 
mummy masks, jewelry, and other objects in imitation of expensive 
materials. They are typically molded and then decorated with paint or 
gilding. Plaster objects also occur as life masks and sculptor's 
models.
    2. Cartonnage--This category includes pieces of papyrus or linen 
covered with plaster and molded into a shape, similar to papier-
m[acirc]ch[eacute], and then painted or gilded. Cartonnage was used for 
coffins and mummy masks. Today, cartonnage objects are sometimes 
dismantled in hopes of extracting inscribed papyrus fragments.
    3. Stucco--This category includes architectural decoration in 
stucco. Stucco is a fine plaster used for coating wall surfaces, or 
molding and carving into architectural decorations, such as reliefs, 
plaques, steles, and inlays
    H. Textile, Basketry, and Rope
    1. Textile
    i. Linen--This category includes Pharaonic and Greco-Roman period 
mummy wrapping, shrouds, garments, and sails made from linen cloth.
    ii. Late Antique Christian, Greek Orthodox, and Coptic--This 
category includes Christian garments and hangings made from linen and 
wool.
    iii. Islamic/Medieval and Ottoman--This category includes textile 
fragments in linen, wool, and cotton.
    2. Basketry--This category includes baskets and containers in a 
variety of shapes and sizes, sandals, and mats made from plant fibers.
    3. Rope--This category includes rope and string from archaeological 
contexts. Rope and string were used for a great variety of purposes, 
including binding planks together in shipbuilding, rigging, lifting 
water for irrigation, fishing nets, measuring, and stringing beads for 
jewelry and garments.
    I. Leather and Parchment
    1. Leather--This category includes shields, sandals, clothing 
(including undergarments), and horse trappings made from leather. It 
also includes leather sheets used occasionally as an alternative to 
papyrus as a writing surface.
    2. Parchment--This category includes documents such as illuminated 
ritual manuscripts that may occur in single leaves or bound as a book 
or ``codex'' written or painted on specially prepared animal skins 
(cattle, sheep/goat, camel) known as parchment.
    J. Papyrus--This category includes scrolls, books, manuscripts, and 
documents, including religious, ceremonial, literary, and 
administrative texts written on papyrus. Scripts include hieroglyphic, 
hieratic, Aramaic, Syriac, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Coptic, Arabic, 
Georgian, Slavonic, Ethiopian, Armenian, and Persian.
    K. Painting and Drawing
    1. Tomb Paintings--This category includes paintings on plaster or 
stone, either flat or carved in relief. Typical subjects include the 
tomb owner and family, gods, and scenes from daily life.
    2. Domestic Wall Paintings--This category includes paintings on 
stone, mud plaster, or lime plaster (wet--buon fresco--and dry--secco 
fresco), sometimes to imitate marble. Types include simple applied 
color, bands and borders, landscapes, and scenes of people and/or 
animals in natural or built settings.
    3. Rock Art--Rock art can be painted and/or chipped and incised 
drawings on natural rock surfaces. Common motifs include humans, 
animals, geometric, and/or floral elements.
    4. Ostraca--This category includes paintings and drawings on stone 
chips, bone, and pottery shards.
    5. Mummy Portrait Panels and Funerary Masks--This category includes 
panels and masks that either covered the upper body of the deceased or 
appear on the outer coffin/sarcophagus. These objects were made in 
wood, plaster, and cartonnage, and they were often painted to depict 
the head and upper body of the deceased.
    6. Late Antique Christian, Greek Orthodox, and Coptic Painting
    i. Wall and Ceiling Paintings--This category includes paintings on 
various kinds of plaster, and which generally portray religious images 
and scenes of biblical events. Surrounding paintings may contain 
animal, floral, or geometric designs, including borders and bands.
    ii. Panel Paintings (Icons)--This category includes smaller 
versions of the scenes on wall paintings, and may be partially covered 
with gold or silver, sometimes encrusted with semi-precious or precious 
stones or glass, and are usually painted on a wooden panel, often for 
inclusion in a wooden screen (iconostasis). Icons also occur painted on 
ceramic.
    L. Mosaics
    1. Floor Mosaics--Floor mosaics are made from stone cut into small 
bits (tesserae) or glass and laid into a plaster matrix. Subjects may 
include landscapes, scenes of humans or gods, and activities such as 
hunting and fishing. There may also be vegetative, floral, or 
decorative motifs.

[[Page 68551]]

    2. Wall and Ceiling Mosaics--Wall and ceiling mosaics are made from 
stone or glass cut into small bits (tesserae) and laid into a plaster 
matrix. Subjects may include religious images and scenes of Biblical 
events. Surrounding panels may contain animal, floral, or geometric 
designs.
    M. Writing--This category includes objects made from papyrus, wood, 
ivory, stone, metal, textile, clay, and ceramic that exhibit forms of 
writing including hieroglyphic, hieratic, Aramaic, Assyrian, 
Babylonian, Persian, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Coptic, Syriac, Georgian, 
Slavonic, Ethiopian, Armenian, Persian, and Arabic scripts.
    N. Human and Animal Remains--This category includes human and 
animal mummies.

II. Ethnological Material

    Ethnological material covered by the Agreement includes 
architectural elements, manuscripts, ecclesiastical objects, and 
ceremonial and ritual objects of the Islamic culture, ranging in date 
from A.D. 1517 to 1914. This would exclude Jewish ceremonial or ritual 
objects.

A. Stone

    1. Architectural Elements--This category includes doors, door 
frames, window fittings, columns, capitals, plinths, bases, lintels, 
jambs, roofs, archways, friezes, pilasters, engaged columns, altars, 
prayer niches (mihrabs), screens, fountains, inlays, and blocks from 
walls, floors, and ceilings of buildings. Architectural elements may be 
plain, molded, or carved and are often decorated with motifs and 
inscriptions. Marble, limestone, and sandstone are most commonly used.
    2. Architectural and Non-Architectural Relief Sculpture--This 
category includes slabs, plaques, steles, capitals, mosaic panels, and 
plinths carved with religious, figural, floral, or geometric motifs or 
inscriptions in Arabic for ceremonial and ritual use. Examples occur 
primarily in marble, limestone, and sandstone.
    3. Memorial Stones and Tombstones--This category includes 
tombstones, grave markers, and cenotaphs. Examples occur primarily in 
marble and are engraved with Arabic script.
    4. Vessels and Containers--This category includes ceremonial and 
ritual stone lamps and containers.

B. Metal

    1. Architectural Elements--This category includes doors, door 
fixtures, such as knockers, bolts and hinges, chandeliers, screens, 
taps, spigots, fountains, and sheets. Copper, brass, lead, and alloys 
are most commonly used.
    2. Architectural and Non-Architectural Relief Sculpture--This 
category includes appliques, plaques, and steles, primarily made of 
bronze and brass, for ceremonial and ritual use. Examples often include 
religious, figural, floral, or geometric motifs. They may also have 
inscriptions in Arabic.
    3. Lamps--This category includes handheld lamps, candelabras, 
braziers, sconces, chandeliers, and lamp stands for ceremonial, ritual, 
and funerary use.
    4. Vessels and Containers--This category includes containers used 
for religious services, such as Koran (Qur'an) cases, Greek Orthodox 
and Coptic Bible caskets, patens, Eucharistic goblets, amulet boxes, 
and incense burners. Brass, copper, silver, and gold are most commonly 
used. Containers may be plain, engraved, hammered, or otherwise 
decorated. Bible caskets may be made of wood and covered with embossed 
silver sheets attached by nails.
    5. Musical Instruments--This category includes instruments used in 
Islamic/Sufi religious ceremonies or rituals such as cymbals and 
trumpets.

C. Ceramic and Clay

    1. Architectural Elements--This category includes carved and molded 
brick and engraved and/or painted and glazed tile wall ornaments and 
panels, sometimes with Arabic script.
    2. Lamps--This category includes glazed mosque and sanctuary lamps 
that may have straight or round, bulbous bodies with a flared top and 
several branches.

D. Wood

    1. Architectural Elements--This category includes doors, door 
frames and fixtures, windows, window frames, panels, beams, balconies, 
stages, screens, prayer niches (mihrabs), minbars, icons, wall shelves, 
cupolas, and ceilings. Examples may be decorated with religious, 
geometric, or floral motifs or inscriptions, and may be either carved, 
turned (on a lathe), and/or painted. Icons may be partially covered 
with gold or silver, sometimes encrusted with semi-precious or precious 
stones or glass, and are usually painted on a wooden panel, often for 
inclusion in a wooden screen (iconostasis).
    2. Architectural and Non-Architectural Relief Sculpture--This 
category includes panels, roofs, beams, balconies, stages, panels, 
ceilings, and doors for ceremonial and ritual use. Examples are carved, 
inlaid, or painted with decorations of religious, floral, or geometric 
motifs or Arabic inscriptions.
    3. Furniture--This category includes furniture, such as minbars, 
dikkas, professorial chairs, episcopal thrones, lectures, divans, 
stools, altars, and tables from Islamic, Greek Orthodox, and Coptic 
ceremonial or ritual contexts. Examples can be carved, inlaid, or 
painted and are made from various types of wood.
    4. Vessels and Containers--This category includes containers used 
for religious purposes such as Koran (Qur'an) cases or Greek Orthodox 
and Coptic Bible caskets and ciboria. Examples may be carved, inlaid, 
or painted with decorations in religious, floral, or geometric motifs, 
or Arabic script. Bible caskets may be covered with embossed silver 
sheets attached by nails.
    5. Writing Implements--This category includes printing blocks, 
writing tablets, and Islamic study tablets inscribed in Arabic and used 
for teaching the Koran (Qur'an).
    6. Musical Instruments--This category includes instruments used in 
Islamic/Sufi religious ceremonies or rituals, such as frame drums 
(banadir).
    7. Beads--This category includes Islamic prayer beads (mas'baha). 
Examples may be plain or decorated with carved designs.

E. Bone, Ivory, and Shell

    1. Architectural Elements--This category includes lintels and 
doorframes (often carved), and inlays for religious decorative and 
architectural elements.
    2. Ceremonial Paraphernalia--This category includes boxes, 
reliquaries (and their contents), plaques, pendants, candelabra, and 
stamp and seal rings.

F. Glass and Semi-Precious Stone

    1. Architectural Elements--This category includes windowpanes, 
mosaic elements, inlays, and stained glass from ceremonial or ritual 
contexts.
    2. Vessels and Containers--This category includes glass and enamel 
lamps and vessels used for Islamic, Greek Orthodox, and Coptic 
religious services. It also includes Greek Orthodox and Coptic Bible 
caskets that may include glass decoration (cabochons) as part of the 
embossed silver cover.
    3. Beads--This category includes Islamic prayer beads (mas'baha) in 
glass or semi-precious stones.

G. Leather, Parchment, and Paper

    1. Books and Manuscripts--Manuscripts can be written or painted on 
paper or papyrus. They occur as

[[Page 68552]]

single leaves, bound with leather or wood as a book or codex, or rolled 
into a scroll. Types include the Koran (Qur'an) and other Islamic 
books, Greek Orthodox and Coptic Bibles, prayer books, and manuscripts. 
Books and manuscripts are often written in black or brown ink, and 
sometimes embellished with painted colorful floral, geometric, or human 
motifs.
    2. Vessels and Containers--This category includes containers used 
for Islamic, Greek Orthodox, and Coptic religious services, such as 
leather Koran (Qur'an) cases or pouches.
    3. Musical Instruments--This category includes instruments used in 
Islamic/Sufi religious ceremonies or rituals, such as leather drums 
(banadir).

H. Textiles--

    This category includes hangings, curtains, shrine covers, prayer 
rugs used in Islamic/Sufi religious ceremonies or rituals, and Greek 
Orthodox and Coptic funeral shrouds and tapestries. Examples can be 
made from linen, silk, cotton, and/or wool.

References

A Catalogue of Greek Coins in the British Museum: Alexandria and the 
Nomes, 1893, R.S. Poole, Trustees of the British Museum, London.
A Checklist of Islamic Coins (3rd ed.), 2011, S. Album, Stephen Album 
Rare Coins, Santa Rosa, CA.
An Introduction to the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt, 2015, K.A. Bard, 
Wiley Blackwell, Malden, MA and Oxford, UK.
Arts of the City Victorious: Islamic Art and Architecture in Fatimid 
North Africa and Egypt, 2008, J.M. Bloom, American University in Cairo 
Press, Cairo and New York.
Catalogue of Alexandrian Coins, 1933, J.G. Milne, Oxford University 
Press, Oxford.
Ptolemaic Coins: An Introduction for Collectors, 1985, R.A. Hazzard, 
Kirk & Bentley, Toronto.
Renaissance of Islam: Art of the Mamluks. 1981, E. At[inodot]l, 
Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.
Roman Provincial Coinage, multiple volumes, 1992-, A. Burnett, et al., 
The British Museum Press, London.
The Cambridge History of Egypt, Volumes 1 and 2, 1998, C.F. Petry and 
M.W. Daly (editors), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
The Tetradrachms of Roman Egypt, 1969, J.W. Curtis, Argonaut, Chicago.
The Treasures of Islamic Art in the Museums of Cairo, 2006, B. O'Kane 
(editor), American University in Cairo Press, Cairo and New York.

Inapplicability of Notice and Delayed Effective Date

    This amendment involves a foreign affairs function of the United 
States and is, therefore, being made without notice or public procedure 
under 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1). For the same reason, a delayed effective date 
is not required under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3).

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Because no notice of proposed rulemaking is required, the 
provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) do 
not apply.

Executive Order 12866

    CBP has determined that this document is not a regulation or rule 
subject to the provisions of Executive Order 12866 because it pertains 
to a foreign affairs function of the United States, as described above, 
and therefore is specifically exempted by section 3(d)(2) of Executive 
Order 12866.

Signing Authority

    This regulation is being issued in accordance with 19 CFR 0.1(a)(1) 
pertaining to the Secretary of the Treasury's authority (or that of 
his/her delegate) to approve regulations related to customs revenue 
functions.
    Troy A. Miller, the Acting Commissioner, having reviewed and 
approved this document, is delegating the authority to electronically 
sign this document to Robert F. Altneu, who is the Director of the 
Regulations and Disclosure Law Division for CBP, for purposes of 
publication in the Federal Register.

List of Subjects in 19 CFR Part 12

    Cultural property, Customs duties and inspection, Imports, 
Prohibited merchandise, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Amendment to the CBP Regulations

    For the reasons set forth above, part 12 of title 19 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (19 CFR part 12) is amended as set forth below:

PART 12--SPECIAL CLASSES OF MERCHANDISE

0
1. The general authority citation for part 12 and the specific 
authority citation for Sec.  12.104g continue to read as follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 19 U.S.C. 66, 1202 (General Note 3(i), 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS)), 1624.
* * * * *
    Sections 12.104 through 12.104i also issued under 19 U.S.C. 2612;
* * * * *

0
2. In Sec.  12.104g, the table in paragraph (a) is amended by revising 
the entry for Egypt to read as follows:


Sec.  12.104g  Specific items or categories designated by agreements or 
emergency actions.

    (a) * * *

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              State party                           Cultural property                      Decision No.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
Egypt.................................  Archaeological material representing      CBP Dec. 21-17.
                                         Egypt's cultural heritage ranging
                                         approximately from 300,000 B.C. to A.D.
                                         1750, and ethnological material ranging
                                         from A.D. 1517 to 1914.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 68553]]

* * * * *

Robert F. Altneu,
Director, Regulations & Disclosure Law Division Regulations & Rulings, 
Office of Trade U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

    Approved:

Timothy E. Skud,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.
[FR Doc. 2021-26348 Filed 12-1-21; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-14-P