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LOT 0191
South Arabian Alabaster Sculpture of a Man with Inscription
3RD-1ST CENTURY B.C.
10 5/8 in. (3.62 kg total, 27.1 cm including stand).
On a rectangular background, shallow sockets and grooved eyebrows, elongated nose and face, mouth faintly indicated by a straight incised line, large, protruding ears; traces of beard under the chin, vertical lines representing hair; name engraved in Arabian letters beneath the chin; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
ProvenanceUK collection, 1990s.
Acquired on the UK art market, before 2000.
Private collection, Mr M.V., a London-based businessman.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Cf. for the style of the head Cleveland R.L., An Ancient South Arabian Necropolis, objects from the second campaign (1951) in the Timna Cemetery, Baltimore, 1951, pls. 20,23. for similar examples; Simpson, S., Queen of Sheba. Treasures from Ancient Yemen, London, 2002, p.119, no.128.
FootnotesWithin South Arabia, there was a well-developed ancient tradition of carving funerary sculptures from a calcite-alabaster stone. The eyes and eyebrows of the heads were usually inlaid or (like probably here) highlighted with red or black pigment. The figure is inscribed on the base with the name of the dedicant, or with the personal name of the dead person.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0191
South Arabian Alabaster Sculpture of a Man with Inscription
Sold for (Inc. bp): £910
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Luristan Bronze Arrowhead Collection
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Comprising: two large tanged arrowheads, mainly of triangular type with mid-rib; two arrowheads with barbed shoulders, midrib and a stop on the blade with a long tang. 122 grams total, 12.7-15 cm
Acquired in the 1990s. Ex Abelita family collection. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
One category of the represented arrowheads has a sharp blade, the ends of which extend to form wings or barbs, and a prominent midrib extending into a long tang that has a stop; the blade shape varies from deltoid to more triangular. The other form has no barbs, but it has a prominent midrib extending to the tang, and a rhomboid or tringular blade. Godard claimed that both types of heads, barbed and not barbed, came from Luristan. -
South Arabian Offering Table with Inscription
6th century B.C.Estimate: £2,000 - 3,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £900
With three D-section stub legs and channel with pouring lip; incised Phoenician or proto-Hebrew inscription, in reverse, to the notched rim. 1.47 kg, 21 cm
Private collection, Canada, acquired by descent from the collection of the present owner’s father, formed 1965-1990. Acquired from the above by the current owner, 2020. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12842-240719. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Sasanian Black Onyx Stamp Seal with Reclining Zebu
3rd-5th century A.D. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £91
Plano-convex in profile with intaglio reclining zebu facing left; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 16.1 grams, 25 mm
Acquired in Paris, France, in the early 1990s. From the collection of G.M.R.H., London, UK. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
