Bron 1999
Bron 1999 d: 173, figs 1-2
- Bron 1999 d: 173, figs 1-2
- Bron 1999 d: 174, figs 3-4
- Bron 1999 d: 175, figs 5-6
- Bron 1999 d: 176, figs 6-7
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Sabaic » Northern Middle Sabaic | ||
| Alphabet | Ancient South Arabian | ||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
| Writing technique | Incision | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Dedicatory text |
GENERAL NOTES
| The inscription is engraved in double track. This statue is dated by Bron to the second half of the 3rd century or 4th century AD. |
TEXT
1 ʿmrm
2 bn ʾws¹ʾl
3 l-bʿl
4 mḥrmn ʾḏ ḍrb
5 qynt-
6 hw Ḥ—
7 lk
| Ll.1-3 are engraved behind the head, neck and shoulders of the figure, ll.4-5 on the flank and left leg, ll.6-7 on the right. | |
| 3 | "Le début de la ligne 3 devrait comporter un verbe de dédicace, mais il ne semble pas avoir été gravé ou avoir disparu par suite de la corrosion du métal" (Bron 1999: 172) |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 ʿmrm, 2 son of ʾwsʾl, 3 to the lord 4 of the sanctuary, when he hit 5 his 6 servant 7 Ḥlk. |
| Translations in French by Bron 1999 d and in German by Stein 2007. | |
| 4 | ḍrb: Bron suggests a comparison with the Arabic ḍaraba "to hit, to beat". |
| Bron 1999 d: 171-172 | Bron, François 1999. Une statuette en bronze à inscription en vieil-arabe. Semitica, 49: 171-177. |
| Stein 2007: 32 | Stein, Peter 2007. Materialien zur sabäischen Dialektologie: Das Problem des amiritischen ("haramischen") Dialektes. Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, 157: 13-47. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Support type | Artefact » Sculpture in the round » Human figure |
| Material | Bronze |
| Measures | h. 7 |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Unknown |
| Ancient site | Unknown |
| Geographical area | Unknown |
| Country | Unknown |
| Archaeological context | Religious context: Temple |
| Notes | "En l'absence d'un nom de divinité, il est difficile de se prononcer quant à la provenance de cet objet, mais on peut supposer avec vraisemblance qu'il faut la chercher en Arabie séoudite, dans la région de Najrān ou de Qaryat al-Faw" (Bron 1999: 172). The definition of bʿl mḥrmn is used in other contexts to introduce the name of the temple, which is lacking here. A comparison with Arbach 2 is interesting: bʿl mḥrmn ḏ-Ġrw. Ġrw or Yġrw is the temple of ḏ-S¹mwy in the wādī Shuḍayf, where many penitential inscriptions have been found. As Bron notes, this statuette seems to come from a penintential context, too. |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
According to the interpretation of Bron, the statuette was consecrated in a temple in expiation of an act of violence committed against a servant. Neither the name of the temple nor that of the god are recorded (for "bʿl mḥrmn" Bron cites a comparison with the camel in bronze published in Seipel 1998: 315, cat. 219). About that, see also the note on the origin of the object.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Bron 1999 d: 171-177 | Bron, François 1999. Une statuette en bronze à inscription en vieil-arabe. Semitica, 49: 171-177. |
| Stein 2007: 32 | Stein, Peter 2007. Materialien zur sabäischen Dialektologie: Das Problem des amiritischen ("haramischen") Dialektes. Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, 157: 13-47. |
| Seipel 1998: 315, cat. 219 | Seipel, Wilfried (ed.) 1998. Jemen. Kunst und Archäologie im Land der Königin von Sabaʾ. Eine Ausstellung des Kunsthistorischen Museums Wien in Zusammenarbeit mit der Generalinstitution fur Altertumer, Museen und Handschriften, Ministerium fur Kultur und Tourismus der Republik Jemen. Wien, Kunstlerhaus, 9. November 1998 bis 21. Februar 1999. Vienna: Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien. |