Sabaean Stele with the Head of a Dignitary
Sabaean Stele with the Head of a Dignitary
This Sabaean (Yemen, Arabia) stele was carved from a rectangular plate; its upper part shows a male face in relief, while the lower section is covered with an inscription in three characters, which may indicate a family name.
1st century A.D., 2nd century B.C.
H: 42.5 cm
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Product Description
This stele was carved from a rectangular plate; its upper part shows a male face in relief, while the lower section is covered with an inscription in three characters (11o, to transcribe in Latin characters ll’ ), which may indicate a family name.
The head is oblong, the face is thin with stylized features. It is framed by a chinstrap beard and, on the forehead, by straight bangs in very light relief. There are no individual features: the treatment of the smooth, firm skin shows no wrinkle or expression. This is a constant of South Arabian figures, which all differ from each other, but never show personal features.
The large variety of human representations in South Arabian art is astonishing: along with the statuettes (seated or standing figures), one finds steles in relief, long-necked heads mounted on a base, etc. The fact that they come almost exclusively from necropolises clearly indicates that they were images of the deceased placed near the tomb: the inscription (written in South Arabian language) often provides information on the name, clan and function of the deceased.
