Researcher Abdullah Mohsen, who tracks and monitors smuggled Yemeni antiquities, announced on Friday that four rare Yemeni artifacts will be put up for sale at the French auction house Blackasse, scheduled for July 9.
He explained in a Facebook post that the items include the famous twin statues of Bayhan, a female statue with a golden earring, and a unique tombstone. He noted that the auction claims they originated from the collection of a European antiquities collector in the 1980s, which were later inherited by the current owner.
Mohsen pointed out that the statue is a twin of another statue from Yemen, discovered in Wadi Bayhan, and is considered one of the most important statues believed to have been part of the Wendell and Merilyn Phillips collection. The American Anthropological Foundation donated this piece to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art.
The female head, carved from translucent alabaster, is described as having an elegant geometric design and a pale creamy surface, with subtle shades of beige and honey. Its sculpture highlights the hair, styled in deep, parallel lines in a chevron pattern, which fall over the shoulders like a curtain, framing the head in delicate rhythmic harmony.
The second artifact, the researcher explained, is a statue of a woman with a gold earring that retains the added decorations and ornaments, of a beautiful female figure made of marble with an ancient Yemeni gold earring dating back to the third century BC.
Mohsen explained that the third piece is a limestone memorial plaque, measuring 37 cm long and 27 cm wide, featuring Yemeni artistic designs that reflect the beliefs of the deceased.
The fourth piece is an ancient head carved from translucent alabaster, 29 cm tall, dating back to a man from ancient Yemen in the first century BC.
Researcher Mohsen called on the American Foundation for the Study of Anthropology, which regularly organizes the Sabaean Forum on Yemeni Antiquities, to provide a transparent explanation of how it acquired these Yemeni artifacts.
Yemeni antiquities are increasingly being smuggled and stolen and are being transported to several countries around the world by officials and leaders loyal to the Saudi-led coalition (Saudi Arabia and the UAE).
These artifacts are being sold at numerous international auctions without any serious action from the coalition-backed government, which claims legitimacy and international recognition.
