Yemeni archaeologist Abdullah Mohsen unveiled three ancient Yemeni artifacts up for sale in auctions held in London and Tel Aviv. On his Facebook page, Mohsen detailed one of the artifacts: a bull’s head crafted from pure gold, made from thin sheets with pairs of semispheres representing ears arranged in circles, and additional semispheres around the hollow muzzle for detail, along with a flat back originally applied as a second layer, possibly featuring a small square hole at its center. The artifact measures five centimeters in length, 3.34 centimeters in width, and 1.44 centimeters in depth, highlighting its small size despite the intricacy of its design.
The first bull artifact belonged to Israeli collector Shlomo Moussaieff and was auctioned on September 23, 2021, at the Archaeological Center Auction organized by Israeli archaeologist Dr. Robert Deutsch, on the Bidspirit global auction platform at the Dan Tel Aviv Hotel. Moussaieff devoted his life to collecting artifacts to validate the Torah’s veracity.
The second bull artifact, discovered in Beihan, Shabwa, was sold at a low price by the Prince of Beihan, Saleh bin Ahmed al-Habili, to Nicholas Wright, who then donated it to the British Museum. Al-Habili had also gifted Sir Charles Johnston numerous artifacts that ended up in the same museum.
A third golden bull’s head is reportedly missing, previously part of the diverse Monseigneur collection, which included numerous pieces from the Wadi Merkhah area, as noted in an archaeological study.
Yemeni artifacts and manuscripts have been subject to looting, destruction, and smuggling, especially in recent years due to the conflict, with sales occurring in countries like the United States, Britain, Germany, France, and Israel.
