CSAI

Collection of the objects from the Yemeni museums


By kind permission of GOAM

DEPOSIT INFORMATION

DepositIbb, Museum, MIbb 3

SUPPORT INFORMATION

Support typeArtefact » Sculpture in the round » Part of human body
MaterialBronze
Measuresh. 23, w. 14
Decoration
Figurative subjectHuman figure
      GenderWoman
      Part of human bodyBust
      Human clothes and attributesHelmet
Notes on support and decorationsBronze bust representing Athena. The goddess wears the helmet and a tunic decorated with the classic motifs of the shield: the snakes and a head of Gorgon. The inscription is engraved around the neck. In Simpson 2002 the artefact is dated at the 3rd century BC; also in the Catalogue 2000 the bust is dated at the 3rd-2nd century BC. The recent stylistic study by Fleischer and Schulz points instead to a dating at the end of the 1st BC - 1st AD.

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin and provenance
Modern siteJabal al-ʿAwd
Ancient siteʿwdm
Geographical areaJabal al-ʿAwd
CountryYemen
Link to site record

CULTURAL NOTES

According to the editors, the bust belongs to the group of objects imported from the Graeco-Hellenistic world. The goddess Athena is represented on three objects from jabal al-ʽAwd: in addition to the present bust, she appears on a statuette and on a small stone relief.

EPIGRAPHS

TitleMIbb 3
LanguageAncient South Arabian » Sabaic » Southern Middle Sabaic
Link to epigraph record

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Catalogue 20002000. Yemen. Nel paese della Regina di Saba. Catalogo della Mostra, Palazzo Ruspoli, Fondazione Memmo, Roma 6 Aprile - 30 Giugno 2000. Milan: Skira.
Simpson 2002Simpson, St John (ed.) 2002. Queen of Sheba. Treasures from the ancient Yemen. London: British Museum Press. [Catalogue of an exhibition held at the British Museum, London]
Fleischer and Schulz 2012: 17-23, figs. 14-16Fleischer, Robert and Schulz, Regine 2012. Figurale Bronzen ägyptischer und griechisch-römischer Art vom Jabal al-ʿAwd, Jemen. Archäologische Berichte aus dem Yemen, 13: 1-90.