Lot 48
ANCIENT ARABIAN ALABASTER HEAD
SOUTHERN ARABIA, C. 1ST CENTURY B.C.
Auction: 26 November 2026 from 14:00 GMT
Description
carved alabaster, depicting the head of a young man, with textured hair, recessed almond eyes and thin lips; light facial hair includes stubble around the chin and sporadic hairs around the upper lip; raised on a bespoke mount
Dimensions
21cm tall (excluding mount), 27.9cm tall (including mount)
Provenance
Before 1967, Private Collection, Aden;
Collection of Dr. Brian Doe, Beeley Old Hall, Beeley, Matlock, Derbyshire;
Collection of a gentleman (G. Turner) from 1981 until 2018;
Property of Mme P Boekstal, widow of M. G. Turner
Footnote
The present piece is a fine example of the distinctive and enigmatic sculpture produced by the wealthy South Arabian kingdoms at the turn of the first millennium BC. With its facial features reduced to their essential forms, the head reflects the highly stylised aesthetic characteristic of the region. Most likely created to adorn a small rectangular niche within a tomb or ritual setting, as suggested by the flattened top of the head, it would have belonged to a high status private individual and may have functioned as a votive image commemorating the deceased.
Originating in a land of considerable prosperity, the Sabaeans were a powerful trading people whose wealth derived largely from the exchange of prized aromatics such as frankincense and myrrh. Some scholars associate their kingdom with the biblical land of Sheba, famed as the home of the wealthy Queen of Sheba.
Literature: St John Simpson, 'Queen of Sheba, Treasures from Ancient Yemen’ (London, 2002), p. 198. A head with beard and moustache similarly indicated can be seen in 'Yemen, au pays de la reine de Saba' (Paris, 1997), p.156.