A 4,000-year-old Egyptian statue which was sold by a council for nearly £16million to an overseas buyer has been banned from leaving Britain . The statue of Sekhemka , a limestone figure which is just 30in high , was controversially sold by Northampton Borough Council for £15.76m last year to a mystery buyer abroad . But the council was accused of committing ‘ a great act of folly ’ by The Save Sekhemka Statue Action group , who feared the ancient relic could disappear into private ownership overseas . Sold : The statue of Sekhemka ( pictured at Christie 's , London last year ) , a limestone figure which is just 30in high , was controversially sold by Northampton Borough Council for £15.76million to a mystery buyer abroad . Now the culture minister Ed Vaizey has ordered a four-month export ban on the relic leaving the British Isles after Arts Council England ruled the sale breached standards for how museums manage their collections . That ban could even be extended to March 2016 if a ‘ serious intention to raise funds to purchase the statue is made ’ , Arts Council England said . The statue , which dates from 2,400BC , is a tomb model of a kilt-wearing high official surrounded by his wife , son and seven offering bearings . Mr Vaizey praised the figure as a work of ‘ outstanding aesthetic importance ’ , and ‘ the finest example of its kind anywhere in the world. ’ Treasure : The statue , which dates from 2,400BC , is a tomb model of a kilt-wearing high official surrounded by his wife , son and seven offering bearings . Above , the artifact picture in Christie 's last year . But in July last year the council sold off the piece , which they have owned for more than 100 years , insisting it wasn ’ t the centrepiece of their collection . The Egyptian government called on the statue to be returned to Egypt if Northampton did not want it , and said the sale ran counter to the values and role of museums worldwide . A Northampton council spokesman said the export ban had ‘ no impact ’ on the council ’ s sale of the statue – and insisted it was a matter for the government and Arts Council England to resolve between them . Tomb model : The statue of Sekhemka , on display at Christie 's , London , ahead of its sale last year . The statue of Sekhemka was found during a 19th century archaeological dig near Cairo . The tomb model shows a seated man wearing a kilt and wig , with his wife , son and offering-bearers . Sekhemka was a high level scribe who lived in the Old Kingdom sometime between 2,700BC and 2,2250BC - the period of Egyptian history when the pyramids of Giza were built . In a country that was mainly illiterate , his ability to read and write means he would have been a person of high status with access to high offices . At first , tomb statues - a sign of wealth - were reserved for the royal family . But as the economy improved , officials like Sekhemka who held high-ranking positions could afford to pay craftsmen to create likenessess of themselves for their tomb . They served two purposes : to act as a record of the way the person looked , and to ensure that the offerings he desired for his survival in the afterlife - listed on the papyrus carried in the statue 's hands - were made after his death . It is unkown exactly when the statue arrived at Northampton Museum , but records indicate it was on display before the end of the 1890s . It has been on display at various Norhampton museums until two years ago . The statue , which stands just 30in high , has been praised as a work of 'outstanding aesthetic importance ' by culture minister Ed Vaizey . He added it was 'the finest example of any kind in the world ' . Its sale in July last year - a bid to raise money to extend Northampton 's museum and art gallery - was heavily criticised .
Statue of Sekhemka was sold by Northampton Borough Council last year . But some feared the relic could disappear into private ownership overseas . The statue is made from a single piece of marble and weighs around 20 tonnes - but it has been in storage for more than 50 years after being donated to the city as part of an international