Fourteen ancient bronze and stone sculptures that were recently returned to the Republic of Yemen from a private collection in New Zealand are headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to be studied and catalogued.
Last year the Met and the Yemeni government reached a custody agreement that allowed the museum to display two ancient artefacts from its own collection that had been returned to Yemen. Due to the ongoing civil war in Yemen, the country’s government opted to keep the 14 newly repatriated objects abroad for safekeeping.
Yemen's president Rashad al-Alimi and Metropolitan Museum director and chief executive Max Hollein during a 24 September repatriation ceremony at the museum Courtesy Embassy of the Republic of Yemen in Washington, DC, via X
“While the current situation does not allow for the immediate repatriation of these artefacts to Yemen, we are thankful that they will be preserved and studied at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York,” Mohammed Al-Hadhrami, the Republic of Yemen’s ambassador to the United States, said in a statement. “This is yet another example of our growing and essential collaboration to safeguard Yemen's cultural heritage.”
The objects in question previously belonged to the New Zealand-base Hague family, which voluntarily repatriated them to Yemen. The artefacts date from between the first century BCE and the third century CE. Many of them are believed to come from the Bayhan district of the Shabwa Governorate in western Yemen.
Stele of a woman, calcite-alabaster, around 1st century BCE-1st century CE, Southwestern Arabia, present-day Yemen. On loan from the Republic of Yemen
Most of the objects are funerary or votive in nature, according to a statement from the Met, and made of a translucent type of yellow calcite alabaster that is typical of the region’s funerary traditions. One object is a funerary stele attributed to the Qatabanian civilisation; it depicts the deceased individual, a woman, with her arms making a prayer gesture.
“In addition to offering exciting opportunities for research in the context of the museum’s collection, this loan represents the Met’s ongoing commitment to international collaboration and to the protection and preservation of artistic and cultural heritage from around the world,” Max Hollein, the museum’s director and chief executive, said in a statement.
Incense burner, limestone, around 3rd century BCE-2nd century CE, Southwestern Arabia, present-day Yemen. On loan from the Republic of Yemen
The objects were displayed during a repatriation ceremony held at the Met on 24 September that was attended by Yemeni President Rashad al-Alimi, Hollein and Tim Lenderking, US special envoy for Yemen.
Last year, the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art reached an agreement with the Yemeni government to temporarily house 77 artefacts that had been looted from Yemen and recovered by US authorities.