ANCIENT SABAEAN ARABIAN MALE HEAD
SOUTHERN ARABIA, C. 1ST CENTURY B.C.
£10,080
Auction: 31 May 2023 at 15:00 BST
Description
carved striped alabaster, the slender neck rising to a rounded chin, the face bearing a compact mouth, the upper lip topped with a small moustache, the ridge nose parting two almond shaped eyes below a sweeping incised brow, raised on a bespoke mount
Dimensions
20.9cm tall (excluding stand)
Provenance
Provenance:
Previously in the Private Collection of Mr François Antonovich (b. 1934), Paris
Renowned dealer and expert François Antonovich (b. 1934), who spent much of his childhood in Cairo before setting up his gallery in Paris, assembled, from as early as 1964, a collection of South Arabian artefacts which has been known to scholars in the field for decades.
Footnote
Published:
Treasures from Ancient Yemen: On the Legendary Road of the Kingdom of Sheba, c. 2007, no. 1 (illus. and cover)
The present piece is a fine example of the distinctive, enigmatic sculpture produced by the wealthy south Arabian kingdoms at the turn of the first millennium B.C. With the facial features stripped to the essence of form, it served as a votive object, and was intended to fit within a small rectangular niche within a ritual site, hence the flattened top of the head.