Sem 115
By kind permission of Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien
DEPOSIT INFORMATION
| Deposit | Wien, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Sem 115 |
SUPPORT INFORMATION
| Support type | Artefact » Sculpture in the round » Part of human body | ||||||
| Material | Alabaster | ||||||
| Measures | h. 25.5, w. 10, th. 13 | ||||||
| Decoration |
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| Notes on support and decorations | Calcite-alabaster human head, with unfinished and flat back side. The ears are missing, the massive neck is splintered, the forehead, ending at the hairline, is rounded. These features are typical of Sabaean sculptures, inserted inside a niche. The face features are well characterised, especially by the hooked nose with large nostrils. The cheeks are full and well moulded, the mouth is thin and the eyes, without pupils, are only sketched. They were probably finished by painting. Even though it lacks the beard or the moustache, it looks like a male face. It is not excluded that the moustache were indicated by painting, as suggests the swelling between nose and lips. The surfaces are well polished. |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Unknown |
| Ancient site | Unknown |
| Geographical area | Unknown |
| Country | Unknown |
| Archaeological context | Funerary context |
| Notes | For its characteristics and style, this head probably comes from the Sabaean area, and in particular from the necropolis of Marib. |
| Link to site record |
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Müller, David H. 1899: 61, pl. XI | Müller, David H. (ed.) 1899. Südarabische Altertümer im Kunsthistorischen Hofmuseum. Vienna: Alfred Hölder. [Im Auftrage und mit Unterstützung des Oberstlämmerer-Amtes seiner K. und K. Apost. Majestät] |
| Satzinger 1994: 102, pl. 70 | Satzinger, Helmut 1994. Das Kunsthistorische Museum in Wien. Die Ägyptisch-Orientalische Sammlung. Mainz: von Zabern. |