CSAI
Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions

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BM 134848 C 9


By kind permission of British Museum
photo
By kind permission of British Museum
photo
By kind permission of British Museum

DEPOSIT INFORMATION

DepositLondon, The British Museum, BM 134848=1966,0725.1

SUPPORT INFORMATION

Support typeArtefact » Sculpture in the round » Human figure
MaterialAlabaster
Dimensionsh. 68.5, w. 33
Decoration
Figurative subjectHuman figure
      GenderWoman
      Part of human bodyComplete figure
      Human gestureStanding, Arms stretching out
      Human clothes and attributesTunic
Notes on support and decorationsHighly polished calcite-alabaster statue of a full-bodied standing woman wearing a long dress, with a neckline which is pointed at either end to slightly expose the shoulders. The face has fine incised eyebrows, a narrow nose, well modelled face with a small serious mouth. The left eye is completely intact with a striking obsidian pupil set into shell inlay to represent the white of the eye. The ears are pierced at the top and in the lobes on both sides. There is a short incised line to indicate hairline and two incised lines extending over the head to indicate centre parting, but no hair, which was realized in another material, probably plaster.
There are holes drilled down between the arms and the breasts presumably for attachments or to secure the statue. The forearms and right lower leg broken away.
This is one of the larger female standing statue from South Arabia.

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin. Conjectural
Modern siteMaʾrib
Ancient siteMryb / Mrb
Geographical areaMaʾrib
CountryYemen
Link to site record

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Doe 1971: Fig. 25Doe, D. Brian 1971. Southern Arabia. London: Thames and Hudson.
Antonini 2001: 78, pl. 29Antonini, Sabina 2001. La statuaria sudarabica in pietra. Repertorio iconografico sudarabico. 1. Paris: de Boccard / Rome: IsIAO. [Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres; Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente]
Simpson 2002: 194, cat. 269Simpson, 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]