The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced plans to return two stone sculptures to the Republic of Yemen, the museum said on Friday.
The sculptures, a sandstone Standing female figure wearing a strap and a necklace and a marble Rectangular mortar, were both sculpted in the third millennium BCE.
One of the statues had been purchased by the Met in 1998, while the other was gifted to the museum in 1999. Researchers investigating the origins of the statues found that they were taken from Ma’rib in 1984, and were, therefore, the property of Yemen.
Yemen has agreed that the Met may continue to display the artifacts until they are ready for them to be returned.
“The Met is honored to collaborate with the Republic of Yemen on this historic agreement,” said Max Hollein, The Met’s Marina Kellen French Director and CEO. “These compelling objects offer an important opportunity to present Yemeni culture—in dialogue with our collection of 5,000 years of art history—to The Met’s audiences.”
“I want to thank His Excellency Mohammed Al-Hadhrami, Ambassador of the Republic of Yemen, and Tim Lenderking, US Special Envoy for Yemen, for their steadfast stewardship of Yemeni culture and for building this partnership with The Met. We are grateful to have established such a collegial and sincere commitment to spotlighting these important works and look forward to working with the large Yemeni-American community in New York City to host a celebration of our new collaboration later this fall.”
Official statements from Yemen
“On behalf of the people and Government of Yemen, we are delighted that Yemen is reclaiming ownership of its precious and priceless cultural heritage” said Mohammed Al-Hadhrami, the Ambassador of the Republic of Yemen to the United States. “Due to the current situation in Yemen, it is not the appropriate time to return these artifacts back to our homeland.”
“We are pleased to have these objects remain on loan with The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, one of the world’s most prominent and prestigious cultural institutions.”
