Yemeni Artifacts "Returned" but Don't Actually Go Back to Yemen

I just learned that in February a ceremony was held to mark the "repatriation" of 77 artifacts to Yemen. The artifacts had all been seized from known smugglers, including Mousa Khouli, who sold looted artifacts via a store in New York. 

But, given that Yemen is in the middle of a civil war, and the US doesn't actually recognize the faction that controls most of the country (the Houthis), the Yemeni embassy agreed to the artifacts being kept at the Smithsonian for the time being. Which is an interesting model for other art from war-torn countries with suspect governments: the nation's ownership of the material is recognized, but their physical return is delayed until some theoretical peaceful future.

Love these funeral monuments, which date to 500 to 200 BC.