YM 23212
Antonini and Agostini 2013: 4, fig. 1
DEPOSIT INFORMATION
| Deposit | Ṣanʿāʾ, The National Museum, YM 23212 |
SUPPORT INFORMATION
| Support type | Artefact » Sculpture in the round » Human figure | ||||||||||||
| Material | Bronze | ||||||||||||
| Measures | h. 80 | ||||||||||||
| Decoration |
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| Notes on support and decorations | Bronze acephalous statue representing a standing male figure, with the right leg slightly advanced. The arms, broken at the elbows, were probably stretching out, in the attitude typical of an offering figure; the left foot is broken as well. The man wears a draped short skirt with lateral fringes bearing the inscription in relief, applied as a cloth decoration. Inside the belt, at the waist, a dagger is inserted. The bust is triangular-shaped with circular and protruding breasts. The waist is very narrow and the hips are wide and rounded for a man; the legs are opened, pressing the skirt edge. Lost-wax casting, with remains of clay core. A hole, visible on the neck, probably served to assemble the head, separately cast. |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Unknown |
| Ancient site | Unknown |
| Geographical area | Maḍḥī |
| Country | Yemen |
| Archaeological context | Religious context: Temple of ʿm ḏ-(ʿw)rtm |
| Notes | We are not sure of the divine epithet's reading. The origin of the statue is based on the lineage name: Ḍrn (l. 2) attested in the Maḍḥā region, but the lineage name's reading is not sure. |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
We do not know other bronze statues from Qataban, at least of considerable dimensions. The inscriptions on the South Arabian bronze statues were usually incised and placed on the chest of the figure, with the exception of the statue of Maʿdīkarib, inscribed either on the chest or on the skirt.
EPIGRAPHS
| Title | YM 23212 |
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Qatabanic » Central Qatabanic |
| Link to epigraph record |
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Antonini and Agostini 2013: 3-5, fig. 1 | Antonini, Sabina and Agostini, Alessio 2013. Two new bronze statues from Yemen. Pages 3-14 in Françoise Briquel-Chatonnet, Catherine Fauveaud and Iwona Gajda (eds). Entre Carthage et l’Arabie heureuse. Mélanges offerts à François Bron. (Orient & Méditerranée, 12). Paris: de Boccard. [Pages 3-8 by S. Antonini; pages 8-12 by A. Agostini "Comment on inscription YM 23212"] |