YM 2403
Catalogue 2000: 335, fig. 204
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Sabaic » Central Middle Sabaic | ||
| Alphabet | Ancient South Arabian | ||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
| Writing technique | Incision | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Dedicatory text |
TEXT
1 Mgdḥl*k* ḏt ʿzzʾ—
2 l hqnyt w-hrṯdn r—
3 bʿ-hmw Hrn bʿl Rḥb—
4 n ṣlmtn ḏt ḏhbn b—
5 t-hw ʾbḥmd bt bny ʿ—
6 zzʾl b-(k)n s²ftt-hw
7 ʾmt-hw Mgdḥlk
8 ḏt ʿzzʾl ln wldt s³—
9 n-hw bt-hw ʾbḥmd w-rʾ
10 k-ḫmr-hw ḥyw l-hw w-l-w—
11 zʾ hʾ Hrn bʿl Rḥbn m—
12 tʿn ʾmt-hw Ḫs³fhrn bn l—
13 nm w-glbm w-hʿn ʾdm-hw
14 bn[y ʿzz]ʾl bn nḍʿ w-s²s¹y
15 (s²)[nʾm ]bn-hw dʿw w-ʾl d—
16 ʿw
| 1 | The sribe writes: Mḏḥlʾ. |
| 4-5 | bt for bnt with n assimilated. |
| 12-13 | lmn seems a complete word, but we can integrate: l<s¹>nm "calumny". |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 Mgdḥlk, of the family ʿzzʾl, 2 dedicated and committed to 3 their protectory divinity Hrn, the Lord of Rḥbn, 4 a female statue in bronze, 5 her daughter ʾbḥmd of the family 6 ʿzzʾl, when her servant Mgdḥlk 7 of the family ʾzzʿl 8 has promised Him, after she had given birth 9 near Him to her daughter ʾbḥmd; and in fact 10 He granted life to her; 11 may that Hrn, the Lord of Rḥbn, 12 continue to save His servant Ḫs³fhrn from 13 calumny (?) and damage and to protect His servants, 14 the family ʿzzʾl, from harm and malice 15 of any enemy the one they are aware of and the one they 16 are not aware of. |
| 4-5 | Robin (Robin and Vogt 1997: 126) translates: "cette statue en bronze (représentant) sa fille", but the dedicatory verbs are two, so it seems better to imagine the dedication of a statue and the entrusting to the god of the daughter of the author. |
| 13 | Robin (Robin and Vogt 1997: 126) "folie et confusion". |
| Robin and Vogt 1997: 126 | Robin, Christian J. and Vogt, Burkhard (eds) 1997. Yémen, au pays de la reine de Saba. Exposition présentée à l'Institut du monde arabe du 25 octobre 1997 au 28 février 1998. Paris: Flammarion, Institut du Monde Arabe. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Deposit | Ṣanʿāʾ, The National Museum, YM 2403 |
| Support type | Artefact » Base » Of statue with dedicatory inscription |
| Material | Alabaster |
| Measures | h. 35, w. 16, th. 8 |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Unknown |
| Ancient site | Unknown |
| Geographical area | wādī al-Jawf |
| Country | Yemen |
| Link to site record |
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Robin and Vogt 1997: 126 | Robin, Christian J. and Vogt, Burkhard (eds) 1997. Yémen, au pays de la reine de Saba. Exposition présentée à l'Institut du monde arabe du 25 octobre 1997 au 28 février 1998. Paris: Flammarion, Institut du Monde Arabe. |
| Catalogue 2000: 334, cat. 204 | 2000. Yemen. Nel paese della Regina di Saba. Catalogo della Mostra, Palazzo Ruspoli, Fondazione Memmo, Roma 6 Aprile - 30 Giugno 2000. Milan: Skira. |