Fourteen ancient stone and bronze sculptures recently returned to the Republic of Yemen from a private collection will be relocated to The Met where the works will be studied and catalogued
The significant loan follows the formation in 2023 of a historic custodial agreement between The Met and Yemen
(New York, September 24, 2024)—The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced today the loan of 14 ancient sculptures from the Republic of Yemen. The works, dating from the first century B.C.E. through the third century C.E., were voluntarily repatriated to the Republic of Yemen from the Hague family collection located in New Zealand. The Republic of Yemen then reached out to The Met to request that the objects be held at the Museum, where they will be studied and catalogued, until Yemen wishes for their return. The loan follows the historic custodial agreement established between The Met and Yemen in 2023, by which The Met is now caring for and displaying two ancient stone works repatriated from its own collection, a return initiated by the Museum after provenance research led by Met scholars established that the works rightfully belong to the Republic of Yemen.
“The Met is honored to be entrusted with this remarkable collection of objects, and by the continued strengthening of the Museum’s relationship with the Republic of Yemen,” said Max Hollein, The Met’s Marina Kellen French Director and CEO. “I am grateful to His Excellency Mohammed Al-Hadhrami, Ambassador of the Republic of Yemen, and Tim Lenderking, U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen, for their partnership in this agreement and for the shared value of stewardship that underlies it. 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.”
“The Government of Yemen expresses its deep appreciation to the Hague family in New Zealand for voluntarily returning 14 invaluable ancient Yemeni artifacts back to the Yemeni people from their private collection,” said Mohammed Al-Hadhrami, Ambassador of the Republic of Yemen to the United States. "While the current situation does not allow for the immediate repatriation of these artifacts to Yemen, we are thankful that they will be preserved and studied at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. This is yet another example of our growing and essential collaboration to safeguard Yemen's cultural heritage.”
The 14 loan objects are stone and bronze sculptures most of which likely originate from the Bayhan district of the Shabwa Governorate in Yemen. This region includes the ancient city of Timna, capital of the Qataban kingdom, one of the major powers in ancient southwestern Arabia and a hub of the ancient international incense trade. Most of the objects are likely funerary, or votives that would have been placed in a funerary context, and many are made of the translucent golden-yellow calcite alabaster that characterizes much funerary art of ancient southwestern Arabia.
One of the loaned objects is an outstanding example of a Qatabanian funerary stele that portrays the deceased, a woman, standing and holding her arms in a common gesture usually interpreted as one of prayer or piety. Several other works are complete or partial depictions of human heads, all of which are likely to have been part of funerary stelae, busts, or statues. These works represent male and female figures in a range of styles, most of which are not currently represented in The Met’s collection. Additional objects include sculptures featuring ibex imagery—a key motif in southwestern Arabian art—along with an inscribed stele, a stone incense burner, and interesting examples of bronzeworking.
About The Met’s Cultural Property Initiative
In spring 2023, The Met announced a suite of initiatives related to cultural property and collecting practices that include undertaking a focused review of works in the collection; hiring additional provenance researchers to join the many researchers and curators already doing this work at the Museum; further engaging staff and trustees; and using The Met’s platform to support and contribute to public discourse on this topic.
The Met has long engaged with countries around the globe as part of its commitment to the shared stewardship of the world’s cultural heritage. The Museum recently established key international partnerships, including a landmark 50-year partnership with the Greek government and the Museum of Cycladic Art, along with the Hellenic Ancient Cultural Institute, regarding Leonard N. Stern’s Collection of Cycladic art that brought 161 stunning Cycladic artifacts from the Leonard N. Stern Collection to The Met for a 25-year display, to be followed by a series of loans and exchanges.
The Met also established a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Culture of the Government of India outlining future cooperation on educational initiatives, exhibitions, and exchanges of scholarship and expertise, building on a decades-long partnership that has yielded many important collaborations; and has similar partnerships in place with the Kingdom of Thailand; Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments; the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea; and the Republic of Italy. More information is available on The Met’s website.
About The Met
The Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in 1870 by a group of American citizens—businessmen and financiers as well as leading artists and thinkers of the day—who wanted to create a museum to bring art and art education to the American people. Today, The Met displays tens of thousands of objects covering 5,000 years of art from around the world for everyone to experience and enjoy. The Museum lives in two iconic sites in New York City—The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters. Millions of people also take part in The Met experience online. Since its founding, The Met has always aspired to be more than a treasury of rare and beautiful objects. Every day, art comes alive in the Museum’s galleries and through its exhibitions and events, revealing both new ideas and unexpected connections across time and across cultures.
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September 24, 2024
Contact: Ann Bailis
Communications@metmusuem.org