The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City has recently announced that a collection of ancient stone and bronze sculptures, repatriated from New Zealand to Yemen, are now on indefinite loan to the museum. The 14 sculptures were voluntarily returned to Yemen from the private Hague family collection in New Zealand, and Yemeni officials have requested that the artifacts be held, studied, and cataloged at the Met until they are ready to be reclaimed.
This long-term loan agreement comes after Yemen and the Met formalized a partnership in 2023, allowing the museum to continue caring for and displaying two ancient stone works that were repatriated to Yemen from the Met’s own collection. Similar loan agreements have been made with Nigeria in 2021, as reported by Art News.
Yemen’s ambassador to the United States, Mohammed Al-Hadhrami, expressed gratitude for the preservation and study of the artifacts at the Met, especially given the ongoing civil war in Yemen. The conflict has resulted in the displacement of millions of people and left a significant portion of the population in need of humanitarian aid.
Yemen has established similar agreements with other museums, including the Smithsonian Institution and England’s Victoria and Albert Museum, to safeguard its cultural heritage. The latest collection of artifacts on loan to the Met date back to the first century B.C.E. through the third century C.E. and likely originate from the Bayhan district of the Shabwa Governorate, specifically the ancient city of Timna.
Most of the objects in the collection were created for funerary ceremonies and include funerary stelae, busts, and statues made from translucent golden-yellow calcite alabaster commonly found in funerary art of ancient southwestern Arabia. Max Hollein, the Met’s CEO, expressed the museum’s honor in being entrusted with this remarkable collection, emphasizing the institution’s commitment to international collaboration and the protection of cultural heritage.
The partnership between Yemen and the Met reflects a growing effort to preserve and safeguard cultural artifacts amidst global conflicts and challenges. By allowing these ancient sculptures to be displayed and studied at the Met, both Yemen and the museum are working together to ensure the preservation of Yemen’s rich cultural heritage for future generations.
