CSAI

Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions


By kind permission of British Museum

DEPOSIT INFORMATION

DepositLondon, The British Museum, BM 116675=1924,1209.2
NotesDonated by Lt-Cdr C. Cranfurd. Findspot: Aden.

SUPPORT INFORMATION

Support typeArtefact » Sculpture in the round » Part of human body
MaterialAlabaster
Measuresh. 25.4, w. 11.2, th. 7.2
Decoration
Figurative subjectHuman figure
      GenderMan
      Part of human bodyHead
Notes on support and decorationsHead of a man with a long neck. The face is quite flat, however, the forehead and chin are rounded to create a more realistic appearance. The face has a large protruding triangular nose, a tight lipped mouth and large almond-shaped eyes (the pupils were originally inlaid) and finely carved eyebrows and brow ridge. Pick holes indicate a beard.
The head was probably originally set in an inscribed base or displayed inside a niche.
The face stops at the hairline, the top has been evened off, and the back is left rough, finished with a point, which has left long incisions across the surface.

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin
Modern siteUnknown
Ancient siteUnknown
Geographical areaUnknown
CountryUnknown
Archaeological contextFunerary context
Link to site record

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Antonini 2001: 161, pl. 108Antonini, Sabina 2001. La statuaria sudarabica in pietra. Repertorio iconografico sudarabico. 1. Paris: de Boccard / Rome: IsIAO. [Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres; Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente]