Stolen bronze statue originating in sixth century BCE Yemen, will be sold in US auction

A Yemeni activist and researcher specialized in tracing looted and stolen Yemeni antiquities, Abdullah Mohsen, has revealed that a rare Yemeni artifact will be offered for sale in an international auction abroad.

Abdullah Mohsen said that the piece is a bronze statue of a leading man from Saba, Yemen, which is set to be sold at public auction on March 9.

He pointed out that the statue from the Fayez Barakat collection failed to be sold in an earlier auction on September 26, 2019 AD due to the exaggeration in the opening price, and will be displayed again on March 9 at the Artemis auction in the United States.

Mohsen indicated that the piece is “a charming statue of cast bronze from the sixth century BC, of a standing man with broad shoulders with his arms bent at the elbows as if carrying an offering, and he looks forward with a rather serious look, with large almond-shaped eyes, and a sharp forehead line, a natural nose, upturned lips, and a carefully trimmed beard crowned with a curly hairdo.”

“He wears a huge robe, from which a dagger (janbiya) protrudes, with drapery folds hanging over his athletic body. This type of clothing is known in Greece as hemation and resembles the Ihram clothing (…) With his stern attitude and demeanor, he is associated with ancient Greek and Cypriot figures, which indicates that in addition to trade between Yemen and southern Europe, there was an exchange of aesthetic ideas between these cultures,” the statement said.

E.M