If the blade is indeed hollow that is obviously less than optimal, but the fittings look like they have some age. I am not sure how developed the tourist industry was in Yemen even during rare times of peace, and I have always thought that the majority of cheaper, more recent examples with hollow blades and plastic hilts were aimed at the local market. As such they would have still been used within the culture and therefore would still be ethnographic arms, even if their overall quality is low.
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