This marble figure of Aphrodite should have disappeared. It should have been pulverized in the blast that reduced Jawdat Khoudary's private museum in Gaza to ashes in 2024 or vanished, like the thousands of antique statues, coins and amphorae, whose fate this Palestinian collector is unaware of after 16 months of war between Israel and Hamas. "It's a miracle," said the construction magnate from Cairo, where he and his family took refuge in December 2023, in a hushed voice.

For the past 17 years, this graceful goddess of love has slept in a crate in Geneva's Freeport. Alongside her are several hundred other precious objects that Khoudary and the Palestinian Authority loaned in 2007 for a major exhibition at the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire (MAH) in Geneva (Switzerland).

For 17 years, the collector, one of the richest men in Gaza, struggled to repatriate his possessions. Despite nearly two decades of endless negotiations, postponed departures and false joy, the conditions for a return were never found. In retrospect, it's a stroke of luck, given the scale of archaeological destruction in the Palestinian enclave. From April 2, around 100 pieces will be on display at the Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA) in Paris under the title "Trésors Sauvés de Gaza. 5 000 Ans d'Histoire" ("Treasures Saved from Gaza: 5,000 Years of History").

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