CSAI

Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions


By kind permission of British Museum

DEPOSIT INFORMATION

DepositLondon, The British Museum, BM 122008=1930,0613.4
NotesDonated by Mrs H.C. Gowan.

SUPPORT INFORMATION

Support typeArtefact » Sculpture in the round » Part of human body
MaterialMarble
Measuresh. 14.9, w. 10.7, th. 7.8
Decoration
Figurative subjectHuman figure
      GenderMan
      Part of human bodyHead
Notes on support and decorationsThis flat, oval shaped head is carved from mottled grey marble. There face has narrow, closely set incised eyes with hollowed pupils, originally inlaid, fine incised lines along brow ridge to indicate eyebrows, a thin, sharply pointed nose, a small incised mouth, comma shaped ears, and medium length straight hair. There are three incised lines, one at each temple and one between the eyes, which Antonini suggests may be the facial mark of foreigners, probably designating ethnic groups which resided in South Arabia (Antonini 2001: 127, n. 39).
The head is fully rounded from the front and it is smoothly finished at the back, which suggests that it may have been set into a base, or it was belonging to a statuette.

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin
Modern siteUnknown
Ancient siteUnknown
Geographical areaUnknown
CountryUnknown
Link to site record

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Antonini 2001: 106, pl. 58Antonini, 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]