NYN |News
After more than five years of legal efforts, Yemen has recovered a rare archaeological collection from France, including the statue of the Qatabanian king “Shaḥar Hilāl” and 15 other artifacts — a move that cultural circles have described as a significant victory against the smuggling of historical heritage.
Abdullah Mohsen, a researcher specializing in the issue of smuggled antiquities, stated today that French authorities seized the artifacts in early 2020 during a routine inspection of a warehouse on the outskirts of Paris. Their authenticity was later confirmed by the Central Office for the Fight against the Trafficking of Cultural Property.
Mohsen explained that the collection is currently being held in a secure location in Paris at the request of the internationally recognized Yemeni government, with plans to transfer it to Yemen once conditions in the country stabilize.
According to investigations, the seized items were part of the collection of François Antonovich, a Frenchman of Italian descent, which includes over 100 Yemeni antiquities. Some of these items had previously been housed in a museum in the Spanish city of León before ending up in a Paris warehouse.
A report by French experts confirmed that the artifacts date back to various periods ranging from the 4th century BCE to the 1st century CE. They include funerary stelae from Ma’in and Al-Jawf, as well as stone and alabaster statues from Wadi Bayhan in Qataban.
Mohsen warned that the smuggling of antiquities is no longer carried out in secret but is happening openly, in front of local communities and state institutions. He noted that trafficking networks have become well-known and sometimes collaborate with archaeology professors and international research institutions to market the items through specialized catalogs.
The researcher called for a serious national strategy to protect Yemen’s heritage from being lost, stressing that what he described as “war and antiquities profiteers” possess significant influence, and that confronting them requires joint efforts by both society and the state.
