Dat-Hamim Stele
Object or Group Name
Dat-Hamim Stele
Case Summary
This alabaster stele depicts the fertility goddess Dat-Hamim, a deity of the sun during the pre-Islamic period, approximately 300-400 C.E.
Phoenix Ancient Art of Switzerland consigned the alabaster plaque for sale in 2002 at Sotheby's New York. It was withdrawn from sale when a Sotheby's staff member recognized the piece in a 1977 publication and concluded that the piece had been stolen from the Aden Museum in Yemen in July 1994 during a period of political unrest in Yemen.
Sotheby's requested permission from Phoenix Ancient Art to contact the Yemen museum and investigate whether the museum had a valid claim on the stele. Ali Aboutaam, one of the owners of Phoenix Ancient Art, requested that Sotheby's not contact the museum directly, but allow Phoenix Ancient Art to return the object to the undisclosed gallery from which it was purchased.
In August 2003, officials of the Republic of Yemen confirmed that the stele was reported to have been stolen and requested the assistance of the U.S. government to recover the stele. A seizure warrant was issued in September 2003 and the item was forfeited to the U.S. government on December 31, 2003.
It was officially returned to the Ambassador of Yemen on December 1, 2004 at a ceremony held in New York City. It currently resides in the National Museum of Yemen in Sana'a.
Phoenix Ancient Art of Switzerland consigned the alabaster plaque for sale in 2002 at Sotheby's New York. It was withdrawn from sale when a Sotheby's staff member recognized the piece in a 1977 publication and concluded that the piece had been stolen from the Aden Museum in Yemen in July 1994 during a period of political unrest in Yemen.
Sotheby's requested permission from Phoenix Ancient Art to contact the Yemen museum and investigate whether the museum had a valid claim on the stele. Ali Aboutaam, one of the owners of Phoenix Ancient Art, requested that Sotheby's not contact the museum directly, but allow Phoenix Ancient Art to return the object to the undisclosed gallery from which it was purchased.
In August 2003, officials of the Republic of Yemen confirmed that the stele was reported to have been stolen and requested the assistance of the U.S. government to recover the stele. A seizure warrant was issued in September 2003 and the item was forfeited to the U.S. government on December 31, 2003.
It was officially returned to the Ambassador of Yemen on December 1, 2004 at a ceremony held in New York City. It currently resides in the National Museum of Yemen in Sana'a.
Number of Objects
1
Object Type
Sculpture – statues, carvings, bronzes, reliefs, figurines
Culture
Himyarite Kingdom
Auction House
Sotheby's New York
Museum Name
Aden Museum
Museum Accession Number
No. 729
Receiving Country
Yemen
Sources
Brodie, N. 2014. Auction Houses and the Antiquities Trade. 3rd international conference of experts on the return of cultural property. Athens: Archaeological Receipts Fund
https://traffickingculture.org/app/uploads/2015/06/Brodie-2014-Auction-Houses.pdf
Yemeni Stele Returns to Mideast Home
https://web.archive.org/web/20101031213931/http://www.nysun.com:80/on-the-town/yemeni-stele-returns-to-mideast-home/5705/
Cultural Property, Art and Antiquities Investigations
https://web.archive.org/web/20170427124838/https://www.ice.gov/factsheets/cultural-artifacts
MOLA Contributor(s)
Damien Huffer
Peer Reviewed By
Jason Felch
Citation
“Dat-Hamim Stele,” Museum of Looted Antiquities, accessed October 5, 2024, https://mola.omeka.net/items/show/1149.