Yemeni bronze statue more than 3,000 years old sold in London

Yemeni archaeologist Abdullah Mohsen revealed the sale of a Yemeni bronze statue that is more than 3,000 years old.

Mohsen explained in a post on his Facebook page that the statue dates back to a man from the first millennium BC, is only 13 cm tall, and was sold at the Blackass (London) auction on July 3, 2023.

He added that despite the small size of the statue, its archaeological details “raised astonishment and admiration,” which shows the ingenuity of Yemeni artists in that era.

According to Mohsen, the auction site described the statue as “an Arab man made of copper from West Asia,” a term that has become common in describing Yemeni artifacts abroad. He pointed out that many auction houses avoid using the term “Yemen” to describe artifacts, especially those extracted illegally.

Instead, these pieces are called “South Arabian antiquities” in an attempt to obliterate the cultural identity of Yemen, noting that the name “Yemen” is now given to two types of antiquities: “Islamic Yemeni”